No help from Russia, ISRO to undertake moon mission no. 2 on its own

The teething issues concerning the launch of Chandrayaan 2 -- the second lunar mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation -- have been cleared.

Ruling out reports about a joint venture with Russia, ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan informed media personnel recently that the space agency is slated to launch the moon mission by 2016-17.

ISRO had sent off its first spacecraft to the moon in October 2008.

Chandrayaan 1 -- ISRO’s first moon mission -- was termed as a success by the space agency despite the spacecraft being recalled prematurely. ISRO had claimed that the Lunar Impact Probe had achieved its objective.

Chandrayaan 2 will be launched by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.

It will study soil and rock samples on the moon for on-site chemical analysis.

Initially, the ISRO had mulled a joint venture with Russia, which would have provided the moon ‘lander’.

But after Moscow’s own space programme encountered some hiccups, ISRO authorities decided to go solo with the space agency’s own ‘lander’.

“After two successful GSLV launches, we are confident of launching Chandrayaan 2,” said Radhakrishnan.

Image: The first photographs of the moon transmitted by Chandrayaan 1 in November 2008 ' Photograph Courtesy: ISRO