Chandrayaan 2 Mission Essay: Objective, Success

“Chandrayaan 2” was a prequel mission to “Chandrayaan 3”. It is a partially successful mission as the orbiter part of the “Chandrayaan 2” is still carrying out its operations and the lander crashed in the Moon’s southern hemisphere in 2019. It will continue its seven-year mission to study the Moon. As well as it observes the key findings of “Chandrayaan 1” in detail (Completed by “Chandrayaan 3″) .”Chandrayaan 2” was launched by ISRO during the tenure of Sivan Kailasavadivoo (K. Sivan). Today we will discuss “Chandrayaan 2” in depth.

Chandrayaan 2 Mission

Chandrayaan 2 Mission – Overview

“Chandrayaan 2” is a three-in-one spacecraft developed by ISRO with all in all Indian technologies with eight payloads. Here are the design specifications and initial mission-related information of “Chandrayaan 2”.

Launch Date	22th July, 2019
Launch Vehicle	GSLV Mk III Fat Boy
Launch Site	Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India
Launch Mass (Orbiter)	~2,379 kg
Mission Tenure	~1 year (extended)
Objectives	Lunar orbit insertion. Remote sensing.
Launch Mass – Lander (Vikram)	~1,471 kg
Payload	Pragyan Rover
Objectives	Soft landing on the Moon Scientific studies Study the Moon’s atmosphere Look out for seismic activity
Mass – Rover (Pragyan)	~27 kg
Power Source	Solar panels
Objectives	Lunar surface exploration Analyze lunar soil
Total Weight	Around 3,877 KGs

Essay on Chandrayaan 2 Mission

Chandrayaan 2 Objective

The mission objective of “Chandrayaan 2” was to perform topographical and mineralogical research on the Moon. Below are the aim of Chandrayaan 2 Mission.

• Try to collect evidence against the presence of water on the Moon’s surface.
• Study the extent and distribution of water.
• Study the topography and seismography of the lunar surface and atmosphere.
• Particularly study the South Pole of the Moon to find the fossil records of the early solar system,
• Prepare a 3-dimensional map of the Moon.

After the success of “Chandrayaan-3,” ISRO is now using the “Chandrayaan 2” orbiter as a backup communication link with the Vikram lander.

Payload Used in Chandrayaan 2

There are eight major payloads were attached with “Chandrayaan 2”. Here are the details of those payloads as mentioned below:

Payload Name	Work of the Payloads
Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC 2)	It was able to create a 3D map of the lunar surface. TMC 2 was a miniature version.
Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer	It was deployed to measure the Moon’s X-ray Fluorescence spectra. It was deployed to examine the presence of rock-forming elements. The XRF technique was to detect these elements by measuring the characteristic X-rays they emit when excited by the Sun’s rays.
Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM)	Supports CLASS by observing the X-rays emitted by the Sun and its corona It was deployed to measure the intensity of solar radiation in those rays. It was also able to measure the full solar X-ray spectrum every second in the 1-15 keV energy range.
Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC)	Captures images of the landing site from two look angles to generate DEMs (Digital Elevation Models). Used to search for potential hazards. Post-landing, it can be used for further scientific surveys.
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)	It was an L- and S-band radar system. It was used to detect water ice inside permanently shadowed craters Globally map the thickness and electrical conductivity of the lunar regolith. This was the first L-band radar mapper sent to orbit the Moon.
Imaging Infrared Spectrometer (IIRS)	Identify the Hydroxyl (OH) and molecular water in the Moon’s polar regions.
Chandra Atmospheric Composition Explorer 2 (ChACE-2)	A neutral mass spectrometer to sample atoms in the tenuous atmosphere above the Moon’s polar regions. CHACE 2 was built on the CHACE experiment from Chandrayaan 2.
Dual Frequency Radio Science (DFRS) experiment	Deployed to study the temporal evolution of electron density in the lunar ionosphere using X-band and S-band signals transmitted to Earth-based receivers.

Success of Chandrayaan 2

According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the “Chandrayaan 2” mission was 95 % successful and it was not a complete success. The spacecraft entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory on 14th August 2019. On 20th August it successfully entered the Elliptical Orbit as well. It indicates that “Chandrayaan 2’s” lunar orbit insertion was successful.

The mission was considered a partial success because, in the final stage before the soft land, Vikarm Lander lost all communication with ISRO when it was just 2.1 km above the moon’s surface.

Why Chandrayaan 2 Failed to Softland on Moon’s surface?

“Chandrayaan 2’s” inability to achieve a soft landing resulted from a series of events initiated by a valve failure, causing excess fuel to enter the engines. This led to increased thrust, disrupting the lander’s orientation. A software glitch prevented the correction of this disturbance.

Significance of Chandrayaan 2

The “Chandrayaan 2” mission plays a major role in advancing our understanding of the cosmos. Let’s discuss the significance of this mission.

• “Chandrayaan 2” was a significant mission for the Indian Space Research.
• It initiated the process of exploring the moon’s South Pole.
• Scientists think there might be water at the moon’s South Pole because it’s mostly in the shadow.
• The mission helps us learn more about the moon and its potential resources.
• “Chandrayaan 2” detected the presence of Argon-40 in the moon’s exosphere.
• “Chandrayaan 2” took pictures of the Sarabhai Crater on the moon’s northeast side.

Recent Awards Received By ISRO

With the “Chandrayaan 3” mission, ISRO achieved the historic soft landing near the Moon’s South Pole on August 23, 2023. With this achievement, India became the first nation to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon’s south pole. On 20th December 2023, ISRO received the Leif Erikson Lunar Prize for its Chandrayaan-3 mission. The prize was awarded by the Exploration Museum in Husavik, Iceland.

Chandrayaan 2 Mission Essay – FAQs

What is the “Chandrayaan 2” mission?

Chandrayaan-2 is ISRO’s second mission to study the Moon. It was a prequel mission to “Chandrayaan 3”.

When “Chandrayaan 2” launched?

“Chandrayaan 2” was launched on 22th July in the year of 2019.

What was the design structure of “Chandrayaan 2”?

It is a three in on spacecraft which consists of an orbiter, Vikram lander, and Pragyan rover.

What were the key findings of “Chandrayaan 2”?

“Chandrayaan 2” confirmed the presence of water molecules on the lunar surface aso identified hydroxyl and water ice in the soil. It mapped the lunar surface and discovered unusual magnetic anomalies.