After the unanticipated halt to the original July 15th launch, ISRO has announced that India’s ambitious moon mission, Chandrayaan-2 will now launch on July 22nd. The previous launch for the mission was called off due to a sudden leak in the cryogenic stage that came up in the rocket being used for the mission — the GSLV Mk III.
In the announcement that came via a tweet, ISRO said “Chandrayaan-2 launch, which was called off due to a technical snag on July 15, 2019, is now rescheduled at 2:43 pm IST on Monday, July 22, 2019.” The earlier launch was scheduled for July 15th, 2:30 am.
Once successful, the mission will see India entering yet another exclusive space club, which currently comprises of Russia, the US and China, to have soft landed a rover on moon. India however, will become the only country to have landed the rover on the farther, completely unexplored side of the moon (the south polar regions).
Chandrayaan-2 launch, which was called off due to a technical snag on July 15, 2019, is now rescheduled at 2:43 pm IST on Monday, July 22, 2019. #Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO
— ISRO (@isro) July 18, 2019
And there is every chance, that India’s Chandrayaan-2 will be successful. The country after all, became the first to send a mission around Mars at first attempt. The mission, despite being extensively complex, was done at a shoe string budget of $76 Million. Chandrayaan 1, the first moon mission by India, was also the one to discover water on the lunar surface.
Why the south polar region you ask ? Well, for one, it lies completely unexplored and humans have no idea on what goes on, on that side. Second, Through this effort, ISRO aims to derive insights and experiences that will bring about a paradigm shift in how lunar expeditions are approached for years to come — propelling further voyages into the farthest frontiers.
