Chandrayaan-2 Launch: ISRO second moon mission will take off at 2:43 pm today, Countdown begins

Highlights:

1. Chandrayaan-2 mission will be streamed live on Doordarshan
2. GSLV Mk-III Orbiter has the Pragyan Rover which runs on solar energy
3. ISRO will also live stream the event on Twitter and Facebook

Chandrayaan 2 Launch - Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch its second Moon landing mission Chandrayaan-2 today at 2:43 pm, after aborting the mission on July 15. Over one billion Indians are eagerly waiting for this proud moment and will be catching the live updates of Chandrayaan 2's launch. India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan 2 will also be the country's first to carry a rover which will soft-land on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan 2 will explore the uncharted territory of the Moon's south polar region. On Sunday, July 21, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) started the countdown for the launch of Chandrayaan 2 on board its "Baahubali" rocket GSLV MK III.

The Rs 978 crore mission, which has been rescheduled for Monday after scientists corrected the glitch in the rocket, will be launched at 2.43 p.m from the second launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, over 100 km from Chennai.
A 20-hour countdown for the launch began at 6.43 pm IST on Sunday, ISRO announced.

Chandrayaan-2 comes 11 years after ISRO's successful first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 which scripted history by making more than 3,400 orbits around the Moon and was operational for 312 days till August 29, 2009.

"Chandrayaan 2 is ready to take a billion dreams to the Moon now stronger than ever before! Join us for the launch on Monday 22 July, 2019 at 2:43 PM IST," ISRO had tweeted on July 18 while announcing the rescheduled launch.

Chandrayaan-2 launch time:
The new ISRO Chandrayaan-2 launch time is set at 2:43 pm IST today. The mission will be launched onboard the GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. It will consist of the Orbiter that will observe the lunar surface and relay communication between Earth and Chandrayaan-2's Lander - Vikram. The unmanned mission will consist of a Pragyan Rover - a 6-wheeled AI-powered that translates to 'wisdom' in Sanskrit. It can travel up to 500m and leverages solar energy for its functioning. It can only communicate with the Lander.

How to watch Chandrayaan-2 launch live:
SDSC Centre in Sriharikota had reopened registrations to witness the launch live from their viewer's gallery. However, the registration process is now closed, so if you want to watch the launch, you will have to resort to live streams. ISRO will live stream the event on its Twitter and Facebook page. Doordarshan will also stream the event live on its YouTube channel, and we have embedded the live stream video below for you to watch. Doordarshan's live stream will start at 2:10 pm.

Chandrayaan-2 mission's main objective:
ISRO notes that Chandrayaan-2 will attempt to soft land the lander - Vikram and rover - Pragyan in a high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70 degrees south.

GSLV Mk-III specifications:
The GSLV Mk-III is India's most powerful launcher to date and is capable of carrying 4-ton class of satellites to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Components of the three-stage launcher include S200 solid rocket boosters, L110 liquid stage, and the C25 upper stage. The orbiter weighs 2,379 kg and has an electric power generation capability of 1,000 W. It will be placed in a 100x100 km lunar polar orbit. The Vikram lander weighs 1,471 kg and possesses an electric power generation capability of 650W. The 6-wheeled Pragyaan rover weighs 27kg and can generate 50W of electrical power. It can travel up to 500m and relies on solar energy for its functioning.

🇮🇳 #INDIA SCRIPTS HISTORY!
PROUD OF YOU @isro!#India's second moon mission #Chandrayaan2 launched successfully from #Sriharikota.#ISROMissions 🇮🇳 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO #Chandrayan2@PMOIndia @MIB_India @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/PeSNc44fMp

— Doordarshan National (@DDNational) July 22, 2019

🇮🇳
CONGRATULATIONS #ISRO!!
#Chandrayan2 launches successfully.#ISROMissions 🇮🇳 #GSLVMkIII #ISRO #Chandrayaan2 @isro @PMOIndia @PrakashJavdekar @PIB_India @MIB_India @prasarbharati @DDNewsLive @AkashvaniAIR pic.twitter.com/Je2W237mcF

— Doordarshan National (@DDNational) July 22, 2019