India's second moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota at 2.43pm on Monday. The Chandrayaan-2 was originally planned to be launched early on July 15, but the attempt was aborted barely an hour before lift-off after a technical snag was detected in the launch rocket.
The Chandrayaan-2 was launched on board the GSLV MK-III, the most powerful rocket ISRO has developed. The 20-hour countdown for the launch of Chandrayaan-2 began at 6.43pm on Sunday.
Chandrayaan-2 builds on the legacy of the first lunar mission of ISRO, Chandrayaan-1, which was launched in 2008. Chandrayaan-1 orbited the moon over 3,400 times and was operational till August 29, 2009.
The project cost of Chandrayaan-2 is estimated to be around Rs 978 crore. After lift-off, the Chandrayaan-2 mission module—comprising an orbiter, lander and rover— will undergo a number of crucial manoeuvres as it enters the moon's orbit. The lander of Chandrayaan-2 is expected to reach the moon's surface by September 6-7. ISRO had modified the flight schedule of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, following the aborted launch attempt on July 15.
