India heads to the Moon’s South Pole

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India heads to the Moon’s South Pole
ndia’s GSLV Mark III launcher that launched the Moon mission to explore its South Pole. Photo: ISRO

The successful launch of the Chandrayaan 2 moon mission opens up exciting new possibilities for India’s space program

By Saikat Datta

India’s ambitious Chandrayaan 2 (Moon Vehicle) headed off into space – at 2.43pm local time this afternoon – aimed for the South Pole of the moon, an area that remains unexplored so far.

This was India’s second moon mission after one in 2008 that discovered water molecules on the planet’s surface.

The latest mission occurred after an initial launch attempt was aborted on July 15, following the discovery of a fuel leak in the engine. That caused scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to postpone the historic venture.

“We did not want a repeat of the Challenger or Columbia shuttle crashes and we decided to err on the side of caution,” an ISRO scientist told Asia Times.

As the world watched anxiously, India’s space scientists went back to the drawing board, looking for another window to launch the mission. “The trajectory of the launch depends on a number of key factors such as the position of the moon, the flight path and many other complex issues. So we needed to be sure that the window was right to launch the mission,” the scientist said.

Exploring Moon’s South Pole

Buoyed by the success of the Chandrayan 1 mission in 2008, ISRO began to plan the second mission targeting the moon’s South Pole.

The earlier mission led to the discovery of water molecules, a finding that drew worldwide acclaim. While ISRO’s space missions are incredibly cheap, compared to NASA’s missions, they are also less complex and carry a much lesser payload. However, the discovery of water molecules led to a major boost to India’s space program. The current mission’s cost is pegged at US$140 million, a pittance compared to NASA’s missions.

“This time Chandrayaan 2 will continue to look for the presence of water molecules in the South Pole of the moon and see how far below the surface it is available,” Dr Raji Rajgopalan, a distinguished fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, told Asia Times.

Dr Raji heads the space and nuclear studies program and has been tracking India’s efforts for nearly a decade. “India’s space missions are complementary in nature and try to ensure there is no duplication with what the US or China or other space agencies are doing. This ensures that there is maximum data available from different missions, which can be collated for a better understanding of our ambitions on the moon,” she said.

Once in the moon’s orbit, ISRO will launch the Pragyaan rover to try to land on the moon and start some experiments. The Chandrayaan 2 satellite will continue to orbit around the moon, picking up telemetry from the Pragyan rover and transmitting that data back to India.

The Pragyan rover will land on the Moon’s South Pole to carry out experiments. Photo: ISRO

The presence of water and minerals on the moon holds great promise for future aspirations to either settle a colony on the moon or use it as a base for further space exploration.

India’s first mission was complementary to NASA’s exploration of the moon and national leaders want to land an Indian astronaut there by 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s plans for a manned lunar mission, so a successful voyage by Chandrayaan 2 could give those plans a major boost.

Fighting sanctions

The other major success is the GSLV Mark III M1 rocket launcher that served as the three-stage heavy vehicle lifter for the Chandrayaan 2 mission. It has a cryogenic engine that was completely developed by India. This is considered a major triumph for Indian scientists and places it in an exclusive club of nations with the same capability.

The success comes after decades of trouble when the US imposed unilateral sanctions against India for trying to buy a cryogenic engine when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister in the mid-80s. India originally sought to buy the engine from US firms. However, after the deal fell through due to excessive cost, Delhi and the then Soviet Union began plans to build one jointly. However, the US immediately hit back by imposing sanctions on India.

“This is a major victory for India’s indigenous space efforts,” Rajgopalan said. “This is the third major launch using the Mark III, with two earlier in November 2017 and June 2018. This puts India in the same bracket as the US, Russia, China and France,” she said.

While Indian space scientists struggled due to the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, it also forced them to start a program to build it on their own. It also gave a major boost to India’s software capabilities as all the programming for the satellites, probes and launchers was done locally.

“A major advantage of India’s space program are the direct benefits that are tied to India’s development programs,” Rajgopalan said. “Earlier missions have launched satellites that built India’s telecommunications, geo-mapping, weather prediction and remote sensing capabilities. In fact, nearly 98% of the missions have direct benefits.”

The successful launch also opens up major possibilities for India, as many other nations not prepared to start a major space program may want to use its capabilities in space.

India launched nearly 400 satellites at one go in the past, at impressively low cost, and many countries in South America and Europe are keen to launch satellites at more affordable prices.

3 COMMENTS

  1. The Problem with the Hindoos ! They forget their true worth ! They are lmpet wimpet limpdicks with Nil IQ !

    Sample the state of their confidence !

    ISRO disaster ! dindooohindoo !

    https://www.news18.com/news/india/chandrayaan-2-live-updates-moon-landing-mission-news-isro-orbiter-lander-vikram-rover-pragyan-2300967.html

    The Hindoo coward,impotentica Rama who took 12 years to make a bridge to Lanka is going to space !

    The Hindoo morons did not know that the Earth Rotates and that the Sun is still !

    Even a FOOL knows that the earth rotates on its axis causing day and night.

    But according to Vedas, the earth is static and this statement is repeated several times. The following are some of the examples:

    1. Oh Man ! He who made the trembling earth static is Indra. (Rig Ved 2/12/12)
    2. The God who made the earth stable (Yajur Ved 32/6)
    3. Indra protects the wide earth which is immovable and has many forms (Atarv Ved 12/1/11)
    4. Let us walk on the Wide and Static earth (Atharv Ved 12/1/17)

    As the Veds Claim that the earth is static and so they tried to prove that the sun moves around the earth.

    The following statement from the rig Ved tries to clarify it:

    "Sun is full of light and knows all the human beings, so his horses take him to sky to look at the world" (Rig Ved 1/50/1)
    "O, Bright sun, a chariot named harit with seven horses takes you to sky" (Rig Ved 1/50/8)

    A Universal Fact

    While proving the existence of scientific knowledge in Veds, some go to the extent of claiming that the sun has magnetic powers or powers of attraction of gravity.

    "O, man, the sun who is most attractive, takes round of the earth, on his golden chariot through the sky and removes the darkness of the earth" (Yajur Ved 33/43)

    As for the moon, the Veds have only to say that it runs in the space, which is full of water – a universal fact that no one can deny, hence nothing new. (Rig Ved 1/105/1)

    WATER or GAU MUTRAM ?

    Can the Kashmiris live with these DINDOOOHINDOO morons ?

  2. The Problem of the Hindoo !

    ISRO Mission has failed – 100 % ! It did not land ! But the Hindoo says that it was a 95% success ?

    The PAF destroyed the IAF
    The Pakistan army and Kashmiri Mujahideen destroyed the Hindoo Army
    ISRO manned mission will also fail
    ISRO Space station will also fail
    Hindooosthan economy and banking and manufacturing will be destroyed
    Hindoosthan will also be destroyed

    But the Hindooo does not get it !! Y ?

    Y ?

    Simple ! Look into History !

    Sample the words of Al Beruni the great Arab Philosopher on these Hindoos.Beruni spent many years in Hindooosthan with Ghazni and studied the Vedas,Astrology and Sanskrit !

    https://dindooohindoo.page.tl/Al_Beruni.htm

    The words of Beruni on the Hindoo – which are PROPHETIC !

    The Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no kings like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs.
    They are haughty, foolishly vain, self-conceited, and stolid.
    They are by nature niggardly in communicating that which they know, and they take the greatest possible care to withhold it from men of another caste among their own people,still much more, of course, from any foreigner…
    If they travelled and mixed with other nations, they would soon change their mind, for their ancestors were not as narrow-minded as the present generation is.
    This wrong estimate of themselves blinded the Hindus and they assumed a false sense of superiority which ultimately proved their ruin.
    Alberuni also tells us that "they (the Hindus) are in a state of confusion, devoid in logical order and in the last instance always mixed up with silly notions of the crowd".
    I can only compare their mathematical and astronomical knowledge to a mixture of pearls and sour dates, or of pearls and dung, or of costly crystals and common pebbles.
    Both kinds of things are equal in their eyes since they cannot raise themselves to the methods of a strictly scientific deduction.

  3. The ISRO mission was to be used by Chaiwala as a diversion from economy and the Kashmir Fiasco !

    The Plam of the Chaiwala bombed – like Demonetisation and GST !

    And the dumb ISRO staff have faith on the Indian PM who was a tea seller and a Gujarati !

    dindooohindoo

    What is the DNA of a Gujarati ? They have wife swap exchanges !

    http://www.topix.com/forum/tv/wife-swap/TV0UTPUHKN2BCFBTA
    http://www.adpost.com/in/personals/23662/
    http://www.globalgujaratnews.in/tags/wife-swapping/

    They have baby making factories !

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2439977/The-baby-factory-In-huge-clinic-India-hundreds-women-paid-5-000-Western-couples-babies.html

    ISRO needs to recruit new staff ! Just like Rama !

    Rama knew the worth of the Hindoo ! That is Y he used an army of apes to make a bridge and fight a war and also used an ape to fly to Lanka !

    Hindoos must not dismiss an ape !

    Apes are better than Hindoos at Maths and Science – and they do it mentally !

    http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail9/story165286/monkeys-are-capable-of-mental-arithmetic-study.html
    http://www.livescience.com/2160-monkeys-math-humans.html

    The Iranians sent an ape to space and also brought it to earth !

    dindooohindoo

    Hindoos know neither maths nor science – they are a race of liars and cheaters !

    Even the Hindoo monkey army asks the recruits to take exams in underwears to STOP CHEATING !

    http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/they-stripped-to-their-underwear-for-army-recruitment-exam-in-bihar-1282699?pfrom=home-lateststories

    THIS IS NOT RIPLEY’S BELIEVE IT OR NOT !

    TO MAKE SURE THAT NO CHEATING PAPERS / GADGETS ARE USED BY THE INDIANS — THE STUDENTS WERE MADE TO TAKE OPEN AIR EXAMS IN THEIR UNDERWEARS ON THE GROUND !

    CHEATING IS IN THE DNA OF THE INDIAN / HINDOO LIMPET LIMPDICKS !

    http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/s-h-a-k-s-p-e-a-r-in-bihar-this-examiner-is-grading-english-test-papers-752800?pfrom=home-lateststories

    THE STUDENT HAS PASTED A 2 USD BILL INTO THE EXAM ANSWER SHEET !! TO BRIBE THE EXAMINER IN ANTICIPATION AND EXPECTATION !!

    WATCH THESE LIZARDS ! IT IS NOT THAT THE HINDOOS LOOK LIKE LIZARDS AND MONGRELS – THEY ARE LIZARDS AT LEAST ! EMPIRICALLY !

    http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/over-1000-impersonators-held-during-police-recruitment-in-bihar/
    http://news.yahoo.com/paper-planes-parents-help-indian-pupils-outsmart-state-080150081.html
    http://qz.com/366323/the-weird-economics-of-indian-parents-who-climb-walls-to-help-their-kids-cheat/

    Space is not for Hindoos and East Asian Vietnamese Trash or Ugandans (Post Idi era)

    Sample the Viets

    http://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/246867/vietnamese-contestant-wins-voyage-into-space.html

    And the Ugandans

    http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/04/world/africa/uganda-space-program/index.html

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