Wishes pour in as ISRO gears up for final phase of Chandrayaan-2
At 1:40 am, the Lander Vikram will begin the 15 minutes-powered descentIf all steps go according to plan, it would be on the lunar surface by 1:55 am
PremiumBengaluru: There is nervous excitement in the air, as scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) prepare for the final phase of Mission Chandrayaan-2, here on Friday.
At 1:40 am, the Lander Vikram will begin the 15 minutes-powered descent. If all steps go according to plan, it would be on the lunar surface by 1:55 am.
The premier space agency tried to capture the hopes of billions of Indians with a cartoon shared via its Twitter handle, wishing Lander Vikram "Best of luck, so it safely reaches the lunar surface."
Also, highlighting how Orbiter, which separated from Lander Vikram on September 2, enjoyed the journey so far, and that it would also "see it (Lander) around from the orbit", while it is continuously revolving around the moon.
Both Lander and Orbiter are in different moon's orbits and there will only be a very small window when the Orbiter would be above the Lander.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also expected to attend the event, at ISTRAC Bengaluru also shared his excitement on Twitter.
"I'm extremely excited to be at the ISRO Centre in Bengaluru to witness the extraordinary moment in the history of India’s space programme. Youngsters from different states will also be present to watch those special moments! There would also be youngsters from Bhutan," he tweeted.
School students from across various states and few from neighbouring country Bhutan would were selected through an online space quiz to watch the soft landing of Chandrayaan-2 with PM Modi have also reached.
"India, and the rest of the world will yet again see the exemplary prowess of our space scientists," said Modi.
The mission is entirely indigenous, since all the three components of the spacecraft including the orbiter, Lander Vikram and Rover Pragyan have been designed and developed by Indian scientists. The mission was launched on July 22 aboard GSLV Mk-111 rocket.
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