ISRO releases first images of India’s ‘Baahubali’ rocket that will carry Chandrayaan 2

ISRO is all set to take another giant leap in aerospace sector, as it is all set to launch the Chandrayaan 2 on July 15, 2019. It is to be noted that Chandrayaan 2 is India's second Moon mission after Chandrayaan 1, which will be deployed on the far side of the lunar surface. Days ahead of the launch, ISRO has released the first photographs of the rocket that will carry Chandrayaan 2 – India’s ambitious Rs 1,000-crore moon mission.

Dubbed as ‘Baahubali’, the photos show the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV Mk-III) rocket which stands 43 metres tall. The 640 tonne rocket, which is as high as a 15 storey building, has twice the carrying capacity of its predecessor the GSLV Mk-II. The GSLV Mk-III will loft the 3.8 tonne satellite on its journey to the moon.

Take a look:

(Photo Credit: ISRO)

The historic Chandrayaan 2 mission will target a completely unexplored section of the Moon that is, its “South Polar region - Aitken Basin”. By conducting topographical studies and mineralogical analyses alongside a few other experiments on the Moon’s Surface, the ISRO’s ambitious mission aims to get a better understanding of the Moon’s origin and its evolution. According to ISRO, the mission Chandrayaan 2 will also nurture the findings of Chandrayaan 1.

It is to be noted that the mission is being considered as a challenge since no space agency has ever explored the South Polar Region of the Moon.

Chandrayaan 2 will be launched in the wee hours of July 15 at 0251 hours from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on-board GSLV Mk-III. It will be injected into an Earth parking 170 x40400 km orbit. Subsequently, Chandrayaan 2 will be put on Lunar Transfer Trajectory.

Chandrayaan 2 has three elements including the Rover, the Lander and the Orbiter. As soon as the spacecraft will land on the moon, the lander will separate from the Orbiter and then perform a series of complex manoeuvres comprising of tough braking and fine braking. The lander, named Vikram, will land near the Moon’s South Pole on September the 6th, 2019. It will then carry out experiments on Lunar surface for 1 Lunar day. A single lunar day is equal to 14 Earth days. However. Orbiter will continue its mission for a duration of one year.

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