TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
India unveils spacecraft for moon-landing mission
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists work on the orbiter vehicle of 'Chandrayaan-2', India's first moon lander and rover mission planned and developed by the ISRO, in Bangalore on June 12, 2019. (AFP/Manjunath Kiran)
I
ndia on Wednesday unveiled a spacecraft which is expected to take off for the moon next month, making the country only the fourth to achieve the feat.
The mission is India's second to the moon, and if successful it will put the nation in the league of the US, the former Soviet Union and China.
Named Chandrayaan-2, the craft is made up of an orbiter, a lander and a rover developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
It will be launched from Sriharikota space centre on July 15 and is expected to land near the lunar South Pole on September 6.
Once it touches down, the rover will carry out experiments while being controlled remotely by ISRO scientists.
Read also: Modi says satellite destruction shows India a `space power'
"It is going to be the most complex mission ever undertaken by ISRO," chairman K. Sivan was quoted as saying by local media.
"The aim is to use space technology for the benefit of the common man."
India has made giant strides in its space journey in recent years.
It launched a record 104 satellites in a single mission in 2017, and has also built a reputation for low-cost space exploration and science missions.
In March, the country said it had destroyed a low-orbiting satellite in a missile test to prove the nation was among the world's most advanced space powers.
