Chandrayaan-2: Soft Landing of Vikram Planned for September 7

Chandrayaan 2 is an Indian lunar mission that will boldly go where no country has ever gone before — the Moon's south polar region. Through this effort, the aim is to improve our understanding of the Moon — discoveries that will benefit India and humanity as a whole. These insights and experiences aim at a paradigm shift in how lunar expeditions are approached for years to come — propelling further voyages into the farthest frontiers.

Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22. The crucial process of the soft landing of the Vikram lander onboard the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft that is currently in the lunar orbit will be taken up in the early hours of September 7, ISRO Chairman K Sivan said on Thursday. Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bengaluru would be engaged in this process which is expected to be completed by 1:55am, he told reporters at the airport in Chennai.

"It is expected to make a soft landing (on the surface of the moon) at around 1:40am and completed by 1:55am. At the global level this is an important mission. It is being keenly watched by everyone," he said.

Elaborating about the complexity involved, he said the speed of the spacecraft needs to be brought down to 'zero.' In a major milestone for India's second Moon mission, the Chandrayaan-2spacecraft successfully entered the lunar orbit on Tuesday by performing Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) manoeuvre.

The second Lunar bound orbit manoeuvre for the spacecraft was successfully performed on Wednesday. There will be three more orbit manoeuvres to make the spacecraft enter into its final orbit passing over the lunar poles at a distance of about 100km from the Moon's surface. ISRO has said subsequently the lander will separate from the Orbiter (on September 2) and enter into a 100km x 30km orbit around the Moon. Then it will perform a series of complex braking manoeuvres to soft land in the South polar region of the Moon.

Asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be part of the event when 'Vikram' makes the soft landing, he said an invitation has been sent seeking the Prime Minister's participation. Asked if there was any gender bias at ISRO, he said there was no such discrimination and talented women were always given better roles.
The rover is set to make the soft landing on the Moon on September 7 and if successful the mission would make India the fourth country after Russia, the US, and China to achieve the feat.