New Delhi: India’s lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 scheduled to be launched in April, will carry NASA’s laser instruments that allow scientists to make accurate measurements of the distance to the Moon.
During the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held at Texas, US last week, NASA confirmed that Chandrayaan-2 will carry NASA-owned laser retroreflector arrays.
Simply put, retroreflectors are sophisticated mirrors that reflect laser signals sent from Earth and hence help precisely pinpoint location of the lander. These in turn can be used to calculate moon’s distance from the Earth.
About Chandrayaan-2
- Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the mission is planned to be launched to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III)
- It includes a lunar orbiter, lander and rover, all developed by India.
- The mission’s lander is called Vikram, named after Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971) who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.
- The mission’s rover is called Pragyan
- The combined mass of the spacecraft is 3877 kg
- When Chandrayaan-2’s rover lands on the Moon, India will become the fifth country in the world to achieve the feat after the Soviet Union in 1959, the US in 1969, China in December 2013, and Israel in 2019.
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Ms Kalinga