India's Chandrayaan-2 Spacecraft Scouts the Moon in New Lunar Photos

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India's Chandrayaan-2 Spacecraft Scouts the Moon in New Lunar Photos

A view of the north polar region of the moon as seen by Chandrayaan-2 on Aug. 23, 2019.

(Image credit: ISRO)

 

India's Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft is settling into orbit around the moon and has an incredible view as it waits to try to make history.

 

The spacecraft arrived in lunar orbit on Aug. 19 (Aug. 20 local time at the Indian Space Research Organisation's mission control) and is currently conducting a series of maneuvers to tweak that orbit in preparation for a landing attempt in less than two weeks.

 

As it does so, the spacecraft is capturing stunning images of the moon's pitted surface, including a set taken on Aug. 23 by the vehicle's Terrain Mapping Camera 2. Those images include one showing the lunar north pole, including Plaskett, Rozhdestvenskiy, Hermite, Sommerfeld and Kirkwood craters.

 

A second image shows a region of the far side's northern hemisphere, including the Jackson, Mach, Mitra and Korolev craters.

 

Chandrayaan-2 is settling into an orbit sweeping between the poles of the moon. In about a week, the orbiter will separate from the rest of the mission and continue on this path for the next year or so. The probe is modeled on India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which carried the instrument that confirmed the presence of water ice in craters near the moon's poles. 

 

A view of the far side of the moon captured by the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft on Aug. 23,

2019. (Image credit: ISRO)

 

The lander portion of the spacecraft, with a rover tucked on board, will head toward the surface near the moon's south pole, attempting India's first soft lunar landing. If the maneuver is successful, the country will become just the fourth to have accomplished such a feat, after the Soviet Union, the U.S. and China.

 

Landing is scheduled for Sept. 6 (Sept. 7 at mission control).

 

 

Source: India's Chandrayaan-2 Spacecraft Scouts the Moon in New Lunar Photos