“Everything Is Going According To Plan, We Are All Set To Witness Historic Event,” ISRO Officials
Mumbai: A Few hours left for a historic event to take place in India as Chandrayaan-2 is all set to make its soft landing on Moon.
‘Everything is going according to plan and we are eagerly waiting for the historic moment,” Sivan told PTI.
The touch-down of the ‘Vikram’ lander has been scheduled between 1.30 am and 2.30 am on Saturday, followed by the rollout of the rover ‘Pragyan’ between 5.30 am and 6.30 am.
From 1.10 pm on Doordarshan will be webcast on ISRO’s website and streamed on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
“Of course there is a lot of concern in the entire (Chandrayaan-2) team as it is a very complex operation and we are doing it for the first time,” a senior mission official said on condition of anonymity.
“Everything; sensors, computers, command systems … have to work perfectly. But we are confident in the sense that we have conducted a large number of simulations on the ground; it gives us confidence that it will be fine,” officials said to PTI.
Chandrayaan-2’s 27-kg robotic vehicle ‘Pragyan’, which translates to ‘knowledge’ in Sanskrit, can travel up to 500 meters from the landing site on the moon and leverage solar power for its functioning.
According to ISRO, “The lander carries three scientific payloads to conduct surface and subsurface science experiments, while the rover carries two payloads.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dozens of students across the country selected by ISRO, however, are slated to watch an online quiz, a large media detachment, and others, as it would from the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC).
(With PTI Inputs)
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