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Source: The Hindu
News: Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) has released the first set of data from Chandrayaan-2 Mission for the general public.
Facts:
- Nodal Centre for Planetary Data: The Indian Space Science Data Centre(ISSDC) is the nodal centre of planetary data archive for the planetary missions of the ISRO.
- Chandrayaan-2 data: The Chandrayaan-2 data are required to be in the Planetary Data System-4(PDS4) standard and required to be peer reviewed scientifically and technically before acceptance as PDS archives and declared ready for sharing with the global scientific community and the general public.
- This activity has been completed and hence the first set of data from the Chandrayaan-2 mission is now being released for the wider public use through the PRADAN portal hosted by the ISSDC.
- What does the data provide? The Orbiter, which carried eight experiments/payloads, all of which have been performing well and sending data received.
Additional Facts:
- Chandrayaan-2: It is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after Chandrayaan-1.
- Main Objective: To map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.
- Launch Vehicle: The mission was launched onboard India’s most powerful launcher – GSLV MK-III M1.
- Modules: The Chandrayaan-2 mission consisted of three main modules:
- Orbiter carried eight scientific payloads for mapping the lunar surface and studying the exosphere (outer atmosphere) of the Moon.
- Vikram lander carried three scientific payloads to conduct surface and subsurface science experiments.
- A Lunar Rover named Pragyan carried two payloads to enhance our understanding of the lunar surface.
- Note: The lander and rover were destroyed during the attempted landing in September, 2019.
