The world is keeping a close eye on the space project from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the stakes are high for ISRO chief K Sivan and Co. to successfully soft land Vikram, the lander, on the Moon, part of its Chandrayaan 2 mission.
With the second edition of Chandrayaan, India will achieve a feat that no other country has managed after all these years of space exploration.
We already know that the United States, USSR (now called Russia) and China are the only countries to soft land on the Moon. But you’ll be surprised to know that none of these have managed to land on the South Pole of the Moon.
This is what the Chandrayaan 2 mission plans to achieve, which will make India the first country in the world to soft land on this side of the Moon.
As highlighted by NASA in multiple reports, ISRO’s mission will play a pivotal role in determining whether other countries can plan their missions to this part of the Moon.
As mentioned by ISRO on its website, the lunar South Pole is especially interesting because the lunar surface area that remains in shadow is much larger than that at the North Pole.
These conditions have generated the possibility of the presence of water in the permanently shadowed areas around it. In addition, South Pole region has craters that are cold traps and contain a fossil record of the early Solar System, the website further highlights.
The mission’s objective is to land in the high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70° south. After that, the Pragyan rover moving on the surface, will survey for elements that can confirm the presence of water on the Moon.
Chandrayaan 2 will be the first spacecraft to land near the Moon's South Pole and this is where NASA hopes to land an astronaut in about five years from now.
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