Chandrayaan-2 mission to launch on July 15; here’s first look

Bengaluru: India's second mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-2, will be launched on July 15, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Sivan announced on Wednesday (June 12). The landing on the Moon near the South Pole, an uncharted territory so far, would be on September 6 or 7, Sivan told reporters in Bengaluru, as the Indian space agency is all set to embark on its most complex mission.

The launch would take place at 2.51 am on board the GSLV MK-III vehicle from the spaceport of Sriharikota. Chandrayaan-1 had 11 payloads, five from India, three from Europe, two from the US and one from Bulgaria, and the mission had the credit for discovery of water on the lunar surface. The 1.4-tonne spacecraft was launched using PSLV and the orbiter had orbited 100 km from the lunar surface.