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Chandrayaan-2

  • September 10, 2021
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Chandrayaan-2

Subject – Science and Tech

Context – 2 years on, ISRO has released the information gathered, from confirmation of the presence of the water molecule to data about solar flares.

Concept –

  • The failure of Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the Moon, to make a soft-landing on the lunar surface had led to much disappointment. The lander and rover malfunctioned in the final moments and crash-landed, getting destroyed in the process.
  • The Orbiter part of the mission has been functioning normally, and in the two years since that setback, the various instruments on board have gathered a wealth of new information that has added to our knowledge about the Moon and its environment.

The Findings –

  • WATER MOLECULE:
    • The presence of water on the Moon had already been confirmed by Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the Moon that flew in 2008.
    • Before that, NASA missions Clementine and Lunar Prospector too had picked up signals of water presence.
    • But the instrument used on Chandrayaan-1 was not sensitive enough to detect whether the signals came from the hydroxyl radical (OH) or the water molecule (H2O, which too has OH).
    • Using far more sensitive instruments, the Imaging Infra-Red Spectrometer (IIRS) on board Chandrayaan-2 has been able to distinguish between hydroxyl and water molecules, and found unique signatures of both.
    • This is the most precise information about the presence of H2O molecules on the Moon till date.
    • Previously, water was known to be present mainly in the polar regions of the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 has now found signatures of water at all latitudes, although its abundance varies from place to place.
    • Dual Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar, a microwave imaging instrument, has reported unambiguous detection of potential water ice at the poles as it has been able to distinguish properties of surface roughness from that of water ice, which is a first.
  • MINOR ELEMENTS:
    • The Large Area Soft X-Ray Spectrometer (CLASS) measures the Moon’s X-ray spectrum to examine the presence of major elements such as magnesium, aluminium, silicon, calcium, titanium, iron, etc.
    • This instrument has detected the minor elements chromium and manganese for the first time through remote sensing, thanks to a better detector.
    • The finding can lay the path for understanding magmatic evolution on the Moon and deeper insights into the nebular conditions as well as planetary differentiation.
    • CLASS has mapped nearly 95% of the lunar surface in X-rays for the first time.
    • Sodium, also a minor element on the Moon surface, was detected without any ambiguity for the first time.
  • STYUDYING THE SUN:
    • One of the payloads, called Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM), besides studying the Moon through the radiation coming in from the Sun, has collected information about solar flares.
    • XSM has observed a large number of microflares outside the active region for the first time, and according to ISRO, this “has great implications on the understanding of the mechanism behind heating of the solar corona”, which has been an open problem for many decades.

How does all this help?

  • While the Orbiter payloads build upon existing knowledge of the Moon in terms of its surface, sub-surface and exosphere, it also paves the path for future Moon missions.
  • Four aspects — mineralogical and volatile mapping of the lunar surface, surface and subsurface properties and processes involved, quantifying water in its various forms across the Moon surface, and maps of elements present on the moon — will be key for future scope of work.
  • A key outcome from Chandrayaan-2 has been the exploration of the permanently shadowed regions as well as craters and boulders underneath the regolith, the loose deposit comprising the top surface extending up to 3-4m in depth. This is expected to help scientists to zero in on future landing and drilling sites, including for human missions.
  • Some key future Moon missions that hope to make use of such data include the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)-ISRO collaboration Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission scheduled for launch in 2023/2024. Its aim is to obtain knowledge of lunar water resources and to explore the suitability of the lunar polar region for setting up a lunar base.
  • NASA’s Artemis missions plan to enable human landing on the Moon beginning 2024 and target sustainable lunar exploration by 2028.
  • The Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme too plans to establish a prototype of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) at the lunar south pole and build a platform supporting large-scale scientific exploration.

What was missed because of the crash-landing?

  • The lander Vikram and rover Pragyaan were carrying instruments to carry out observations on the surface. These were supposed to pick up additional information about the terrain, and composition and mineralogy.
  • While the instruments on board the Orbiter are making “global” observations, those on the lander and rover would have provided much more local information. The two diverse sets of data could have helped prepare a more composite picture of the Moon.
  • ISRO is sending a fresh mission, Chandrayaan-3, planned for next year. It is expected to have only a lander and rover, and no Orbiter.

About Chandrayaan-2

  • It is an integrated 3-in-1 spacecraft of around 3,877 kg consisting of an Orbiter of the Moon, Vikram (after Vikram Sarabhai) – the lander and Pragyan (wisdom) – the rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.
  • The Chandrayaan-2 was India’s first attempt to land on the lunar surface.
  • ISRO had planned the landing on the South Pole of the lunar surface. However, the lander Vikram hard-landed in September last year. Its orbiter, which is still in the lunar orbit, has a mission life of seven years.
  • This mission was conducted for topographical researches and mineralogical studies to have a better understanding of the Moon’s origin and evolution.
  • Chandrayaan 2 Mission was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space on July 22, 2019, by GSLV Mk III-M1.
  • The main aim of Chandrayaan 2 was to trace the location and abundance of lunar water on the moon’s surface.

About Chandrayaan-1

  • Chandrayaan Mission was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was India’s first mission to the moon.
  • The spacecraft was launched on 22nd October 2008 by a modified version of the PSLV C-11 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
  • Chandrayaan-1, ISRO’s first exploratory mission to moon, was designed to just orbit the Moon and make observations with instruments on board.
  • Chandrayaan-1 operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years but the mission achieved 95% of its planned objectives.
  • Key Findings of Chandrayaan-1
    • Confirmed presence of lunar water
    • Evidence of lunar caves formed by an ancient lunar lava flow
    • Past tectonic activity were found on the lunar surface.
    • The mission successfully detected the presence of titanium and calcium along with the accurate measurements of iron, aluminium and magnesium on the moon.
Chandrayaan-2 Science and tech

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