IChandrayaan 2 update ...
with successful launch of GSLV Mk II ....Chandrayaan 2 may be back on track ...
Lander and Rover Moon Exploration mission has 2 launch windows either 2015 or 2017 ...
There is still no clarity ....if Chandrayaan 2 will be totally indigenous mission or it will be Indo-French or indo-US mission ...
Business Standard that ISRO and NASA are working together on the Chandrayaan project to explore the Moon, as also on missions to study Mars and Sun.
“We can have a larger mission; we are able to do that. The next one has to be a more complex mission. A while ago, we, along with the French, carried out a joint project of building a satellite---the Megha-Tropiques. We had also worked with the French to develop two landers. We have carried out a joint study with NASA’s JPL,” Radhakrishnan said.
The ISRO Chairman's reference to two lander could suggest that ISRO may go for a standalone lander first to validate lander technology and then a lander / rover combination as originally envisaged.
Isro lines up 18 missions over the next 15 months | Business Standard
Project Director
The project is being helmed by Dr Mayilsamy Annadurai.
Mission Profile
According to a presentation made by Dr. Goswami and M. Annadurai, project director for Chandrayaan-2, at 2011 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference:
A GSLV Mk-2 launcher will will place the Chandrayaan-2's orbiter, lander and rover, in a transfer orbit around the Earth. From there, the orbiter's onboard rocket engine will propel both the spacecraft and the lander-rover combo into a trajectory that will take them to the Moon.
Once on the lunar transfer trajectory, the orbiter and lander-rover will separate. The two would then journey independently to the Moon,
Landing Sequence
During the landing, the lander's main engine will bring the spacecraft to hover at approximately 2 kms above the lunar surface and then shut down.
The lander will then free fall under the moon's weak gravity, with small thrusters periodically firing to control the rate of descent.
The lander will use a three beam Doppler radar to avoid large obstacles during its descent to the moon's surface.
The accuracy of the autonomous landing system allows the landing area to be predicted as an ellipse that is 30 km long and 15 km wide.
After the lander touches down on the moon, it will release the rover on the lunar surface.
Landing site:
2 landing sites reportedly been identified based on data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Japanese Selena orbiter, which entered lunar orbit in 2007.
The Russian developed Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector, LEND, installed on LRO was used to identify sunlit areas, potentially with sub surface ice. Imagery from Selena and data from LOLA laser altimeter on NASA’s LRO orbiter was used to profile the terrain in these areas.
To begin with 14 sites in sunlight areas close to the South Pole that possibly have subsurface ice were identified..
Nine of these sites were rejected at the outset by the lander team because the terrain was too rough for the landing system of the spacecraft.
The mission strategy was revised to inject the satellite in a lower initial orbit (170 X 16980 km) with a higher lift-off mass of 3200 kg and the Propulsion System Configuration changed to increase fuel carrying capability of the satellite.
Selected Sites
Based on accuracy of the landing system, two sites have been short listed
Main site: 87.2 deg S, 68 deg E, Shoemaker, Faustini
Backup site: 88.5 deg S, 297 deg E, Gerlach
The sites finalized could change if the accuracy of the landing system is improved or based on other data.