June 22, 2019, will remain a historic moment for Indians as Indian Space Research Centre’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan 2 was successfully launched from Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota. The nation’s second mission to the moon was all about studying this astronomical body.
Congratulating ISRO on the launch of Chandrayaan 2, NASA mentioned in a tweet- “..We’re proud to support your mission comms using our Deep Space Network and look forward to what you learn about the lunar South pole where we will send astronauts on our #Artemis mission in a few years.”
Congrats to @ISRO on the launch of Chandrayaan 2, a mission to study the Moon. We’re proud to support your mission comms using our Deep Space Network and look forward to what you learn about the lunar South pole where we will send astronauts on our #Artemis mission in a few years pic.twitter.com/dOcWBX3kOE
— NASA (@NASA) July 22, 2019
Over 7,500 people witnessed the launch at the viewing gallery at 2:43 pm On Monday, but probably whole India was glued to their TV screens. Scientists believe that the mission is likely to see the lander and rover modules of the spacecraft, to make a soft-landing on the surface of the moon on September 7, after completing a journey of 384,400 km.
Total number of 7500 visitors witnessed the launch live from the Viewer’s Gallery at Sriharikota
Here’s another view of visitors…#Chandrayaan2 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO pic.twitter.com/EqvZAYyIVU— ISRO (@isro) July 22, 2019
Another beautiful thing about the whole mission is it was headed by the nation’s top-notch women scientists and now fondly called by people ‘rocket women’, Ritu Karidhal and Muthayya Vanitha. It is a matter of immense pride for the nation that the Rs 978-crore unmanned mission was under the supervision of 2 women who helped Chandrayaan2 aim for the moon. Reportedly, 30% of ISRO’s workforce is female.
Women Power 💪💪💪💪
They Made us proud today.#MoonMission2 #IndiaMoonMission#ISROMissions#ISRO
Director: Vanitha Mutthayya Mission Director: Ritu Karidhal pic.twitter.com/ugXvOvuy5E— সৌরভ सौरभ ಸೌರವ್ 🇮🇳 ❁ (@sourav4tweet) July 22, 2019
Without any trouble, the gigantic 640-tonne GSLV Mk-III rocket lifted the 3850-kg Chandrayaan-2 module into space.
Wishes are pouring in from pan India and here’s is what the congratulating messages look like-
Congratulations to entire team @isro
Proud moment for India 🇮🇳#Chandrayaan2 #ISRO #GSLVMkIII— Kartik S Bhandage (@KartikBhandage) July 22, 2019
#Chandrayaan2 IS-RO-aring #ISRO
Kudos to the entire team who’ve spent many sleepless nights gazing at the #Moon and hardworking days preparing to reach it! #MoonMission2— MR (@melzmelissam) July 22, 2019
Some have even created memes and are having a blast online-
— Mohit Joshi (@Mohitji07) July 22, 2019
Is NASA flexing on ISRO or genuinely congratulating.
Anyways, thanks and best wishes for your upcoming manned moon mission. pic.twitter.com/nSJCaOGmTd— 👨💻 Ketan Ramteke 👨💻 (@theketan2) July 22, 2019
“We will send astronauts to the lunar South Pole.” #SpaceisFake #NASAlies #Moon2024 pic.twitter.com/VVAb5EUhvr
— Real Heel (@Franchise213) July 22, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 will perform 15 crucial maneuvers in the days to come and will be landing on the moon very slowly. It is an indigenous mission. It has been fully designed and developed by ISRO scientists. The software for the Chandrayaan-2 mission has also been created inhouse by the scientists.
It was scheduled to be launched on July 15. However, less than an hour before the launch, the mission was aborted after a technical snag was detected.
The great news is that Chandrayaan-2 will explore a region of Moon where no mission has ever set foot. The spacecraft consists of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover together referred to as “composite body.” The probe’s total mass is 3.8 ton and is expected to land on the Moon’s South Polar Region on September 6 or 7 this year.