Nail biting moments, prayers as ‘Vikram’ prepares to kiss Chanda Mama

The few minutes between the moment Moon lander ‘Vikram’ starts its final descent and the time it touches down on the lunar surface will be “15 minutes of terror” in ISRO chief K. Sivan’s words even as he underlined that everything has been going according to the plan and the team was “eagerly waiting” for the event.

The landing is not going to be an easy task for all the expertise of the scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Sivan said.

This is because it is quite difficult to control the speed of the descent of the lander and a harsh landing could destroy the equipment, and with it the months of strenuous efforts of the scientist and the hopes of crores of Indians.

"This is a very complex process and it is new for us. It is a complex process even for those who have already done it. We are doing this for the first time, so it will be 15 minutes of terror for us," Sivan was quoted as saying.

He said that landing is especially difficult on the moon since the atmosphere is very thin and parachutes cannot be used to slow down.

A successful touch-down will make India only the fourth country after Russia, US and China to achieve a soft landing on the moon, and the first to launch a mission to the unexplored south polar region.

The touchdown of 'Vikram' lander is scheduled between 1.30 am and 2.30 am, followed by the rollout of rover 'Pragyan' between 5.30 am and 6.30 am.

"Certainly, there is lot of anxiety in the minds of the entire (Chandrayaan-2) team because it's a very complex operation and we are doing it for the first time," a senior official associated with the mission said.

"Everything... sensors, computers, command systems... has to work perfectly. But we are confident in the sense we have conducted a large number of simulations on the ground; it gives us the confidence it would go alright," the official said.

He described the soft-landing as "almost like placing a baby on the cradle", and said, "there is certain amount of anxiety but there is no fear."

As India attempts a soft-landing on the lunar surface, all eyes will be on the lander 'Vikram' and rover 'Pragyan'.

The 1,471-kg 'Vikram', named after Vikram Sarabhai, father of the Indian space programme, is designed to execute a soft-landing on the lunar surface, and to function for one lunar day, which is equivalent to about 14 earth days.

Chandrayaan-2's 27-kg robotic vehicle 'Pragyan', which translates to 'wisdom' in Sanskrit, can travel up to 500 metres from the landing spot on the Moon and leverages solar energy for its functioning.

"The lander carries three scientific payloads to conduct surface and sub-surface science experiments, while the rover carries two payloads to enhance our understanding of the lunar surface," according to ISRO.

'Vikram' will perform a series of complex braking manoeuvres to soft-land in the South polar region of the Moon between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, on September 7.

A few hours later, the rover will roll down from 'Vikram' and will explore the surrounding lunar terrain.

The mission life of the orbiter will be one year while that of the lander and rover will be one lunar day which is equal to 14 earth days.

The Chandrayaan-2 is a Rs 978 crore unmanned moon mission (satellite cost Rs 603 crore, GSLV MK III cost Rs 375 crore).

India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV MkIII-M1 successfully launched the 3,840-kg Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft into Earth's orbit on July 22.

The spacecraft began its journey towards the moon leaving the earth's orbit in the dark hours on August 14, after a crucial manoeuvre called Trans Lunar Insertion that was carried out by ISRO to place the spacecraft on "Lunar Transfer Trajectory."

The spacecraft successfully entered the lunar orbit on August 20 by performing Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) manoeuvre.

On September 2, 'Vikram' successfully separated from the orbiter, following which two de-orbiting manoeuvres were performed to bring the lander closer to the Moon.

The health of the spacecraft is being continuously monitored from the Mission Operations Complex at ISTRAC here with support from Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennas at Bylalu, near Bengaluru.

The orbiter carries eight scientific payloads for mapping the lunar surface and study the exosphere (outer atmosphere) of the Moon, according to ISRO officials.

Meanwhile, special prayers will be held at the Chandranaar Temple in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district to seek divine blessings of Moon god Chandran for the successful landing of Vikram.

"We will have a special ‘abhishekam’ and ‘archanai’ today (Friday) evening seeking the divine blessings of Chandran," V. Kannan, Manager at the Sri Kailasanathan Temple or the Chandranaar Temple, said.

He said the special prayers are their contribution for India going forward in its scientific programme.

The Chandranaar Temple is one of the Navagraha temples, all located near Kumbakonam, and devotees pray at these temples to get rid of the negative planetary influence on them.

The soft landing will be telecast live from 1.10 a.m on Doordarshan, webcast on ISRO website and streamed on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

PM Narendra Modi, dozens of students from across the country selected by ISRO though an online quiz, a large media contingent and others will watch the final descent of the lander as it happens, from the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.