Ahead of Chandrayaan 2 launch, ISRO tweets 4 theories behind Moon’s origin
- Chandrayaan-2 mission consists of Orbiter, Lander and Rover
- The mission will have 14 scientific instruments (payloads), including 8 in the orbiter, 4 in the lander and 2 in the rover
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has put four interesting theories just ahead of its much awaited Chandrayaan 2 launch on 15 July. The Indian Space agency in a tweet has posted a picture and put forward four theories on the origin of the moon.
ISRO has tweeted, "Which of these theories is correct? Is there a fifth alternative that no one else has considered? We are looking to find the answer to these questions and more through Chandrayaan 2 — the world’s first mission to the Moon’s south polar region!"
Fission Theory
The Earth's rotational speed caused the Moon to split from the planet, while its gravitational pull anchored this fragment to become our natural satellite.
Giant Impact Hypothesis
A collision between the Earth and another celestial body caused a segment of the planet to break off and become the Moon.
Co-accretion Theory
A single cloud of gas created the Moon and the Earth while orbiting a black hole.
Capture Theory
The Moon was an untethered object before it was captured by the Earth's gravitational field during a fly by.
Chandrayaan-2 mission consists of Orbiter, Lander and Rover. It will be in space for 59 days before it lands in the month of September. The radar will move out and rover will carry the samples.
The mission will have 14 scientific instruments (payloads), including 8 in the orbiter, 4 in the lander and 2 in the rover. One instrument in the rover is passive one from the US space agency -- NASA.
ISRO has named the lander "Vikram", after India's space pioneer Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971) and rover "Pragyan", which in Sanskrit means wisdom.
"The rocket will place the orbiter in the geo-transfer orbit for its voyage to the lunar orbit, covering a whopping 385,000km from earth to moon in 50 days for the lander to have a soft landing near its south pole on 6 September," said Sivan.
The rocket will separate the orbiter minutes after the launch at 170km perigee (nearer to earth) and 38,000km apogee (away from earth) and get into geo transfer orbit for its long journey (385,000km) to the lunar orbit in 16 days and descend to 100km from the lunar surface by 6 September.
*With Agency Inputs
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First Published:10 Jul 2019, 06:03 PM IST
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