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Chandrayaan-2 launch between July 9 to 16

On reaching the moon, the lander would separate from the orbiter and soft-land at a pre-determined site close to lunar south pole.

Sriharikota: Isro is gearing up for the launch of Chandrayaan-2 onboard the Geo Stationary Launch Vehicle Mk-III between July 9 and July 16, with an expected Moon landing on September 6. The rover will be rolled out on the same day. Isro chairman K. Sivan said, “It is going to land at a particular location where nobody has gone before.”

He called it the most most complex mission ever undertaken by Isro. Chandrayaan-2 carries the orbiter, a lander called Vikram and a rover, Pragyan.

On reaching the moon, the lander would separate from the orbiter and soft-land at a pre-determined site close to lunar south pole.

The rover would roll out for carrying out scientific experiments on the lunar surface.

Chandrayaan-2 would have 13 payloads and one passive experiment from American space agency Nasa to measure the distance between the moon and earth.

Processors used will ‘revolutionise future’

Isro chairman Dr K. Sivan said the PSLV rocket that hoisted a spy satellite into space had two advanced payloads including the Vikram processor developed by Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Chandigarh.

The processor’s main application is in the realisation of on-board computers for navigation, guidance and control processing in flight applications. It also carried a low-cost MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System built at the Isro Inertial Systems Unit, Thiruvananthapuram.

MEMS stands for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems. Dr Sivan said Risat-2B had a “very complex new technology”, a 3.6-metre unfurlable radial rib antenna.

“This is going to be the technology of the future,” he said. “It is going to revolutionise our future launch vehicle missions.”

Following that, Isro will launch a cartography satellite to take high-resolution pictures, and will also use its new rocket, the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

Isro will also be launching Risat-2BR1, another radar imaging satellite, and two more defence satellites in July or August with the SSLV.

There is an increased demand for satellites from strategic sectors. About six to seven satellites are planned to be built, a senior official of Isro said.

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