Chandrayaan 2 to get three new Indian payloads
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 31 August 2010, 22:03 IST
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Bangalore: Chandrayaan 2, the second Indian space mission to the moon which is scheduled for 2013 will now have three new Indian payloads. The space mission will repeat two instruments from Chandrayaan 1 that discovered water in the form of ice near the North Pole of the moon. According to an announcement by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), five scientific payloads for the orbiting Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft and two instruments on the rover that is set to land on the moon have been picked by a National Committee of Experts. Many foreign were interested in this mission, but the committee did not pick any foreign payloads. "Inclusion of additional payloads, if possible within the mission constraints, will be considered at a later date following a detailed review," ISRO said. Based on detailed considerations of the mission requirements for Chandrayaan 2, including the weight and power available for the scientific payloads, the five instruments for the spacecraft were selected. The Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft is worth 500 crore and will weigh about 2,650 kg. The orbiter weight will be about 1,400 kg and the lander weight is about 1,250 kg. Critical analysis of the moon and an in-depth study of findings from Chandrayaan 1 are taken seriously to launch the GSLV by ISRO. The payloads for Chandrayaan 2 were finalised by experts from ISRO, academic institutions and research laboratories under Prof. U R Rao, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Space Sciences.

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