This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/world/asia/chandrayaan-india-moon-launch.html

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
India Launches Chandrayaan-2 Moon Mission on Second Try India Launches Chandrayaan-2 Moon Mission on Second Try
(about 3 hours later)
SATISH DHAWAN SPACE CENTER, India — India is on its way to the moon.SATISH DHAWAN SPACE CENTER, India — India is on its way to the moon.
One week after a first attempt was canceled at the last minute, the Chandrayaan-2 mission blasted off at 2:43 p.m. on Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India’s southeast coast, carrying an uncrewed lunar lander and this country’s space dreams. One week after a first attempt was canceled at the last minute, the Chandrayaan-2 mission blasted off at 2:43 p.m. Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India’s southeast coast, carrying an uncrewed lunar lander and the dreams of a nation.
The 142-feet-tall rocket rose on a funnel of fire, ripping through the air perfectly straight and surprisingly fast, before vanishing into a thick bank of clouds, heading for the south pole of the moon. The 142-foot, 700-ton rocket rose on a funnel of fire, ripping through the air perfectly straight and surprisingly fast before vanishing into a thick bank of clouds.
A roaring thunder echoed across the sky.
“The mission has been successfully accomplished!” blared a message from loudspeakers at mission control.“The mission has been successfully accomplished!” blared a message from loudspeakers at mission control.
Last week, Indian rocket scientists abruptly called off the launch less than an hour before liftoff. They had found a “technical snag,” they said. Scientists later disclosed that one of the helium tanks in the upper stage of the rocket had been slightly losing pressure. If the rest of the mission goes as well, India will become the fourth nation — after the United States, Russia and China — to land on the moon, more than 200,000 miles away. Its target is a region near the mysterious south pole, where no other missions have explored.
But on Monday, all systems were go for the first-ever mission to the moon’s south pole. India plans to land a remote-controlled lander softly on the moon’s surface near the pole, which it will then explore with a small, six-wheeled rover. This would be a huge leap forward for India’s ambitious space program, and scientists and defense experts everywhere are watching to see whether the country can pull it off.
“The low-pressure issue got corrected,” said Vivek Singh, a spokesman for the Indian Space Research Organization, India’s version of NASA. “The mood is perfect.” So are countless Indians. There are few things as unifying for a nation as a successful space program, and, over the past few weeks, Chandrayaan-2 posters have popped up everywhere and schoolchildren have been hunched over rockets made from soda bottles, learning the physics of rocketry.
“You know in space missions, you can’t go with 99 percent confidence,” he added. “You should have 100 percent confidence.” The timing could not be better. This weekend was the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and the anniversary coverage has fanned lunar fever around the world.
If successful, India will become the fourth nation — after the United States, Russia and China — to land on the moon, more than 200,000 miles away. It would be a huge leap forward for the country’s ambitious space program, and scientists and defense experts everywhere are watching to see whether the Indians can pull it off. Indian officials insist that the timing was a coincidence — they had wanted to launch the Chandrayaan-2 mission a couple of years ago as a space joint venture with Russia. But when the Russians backed out, the Indians needed more time to build everything on their own.
Within India, the mission has stoked enormous pride, especially among schoolchildren who dream of being astronauts. On Monday, a huge crowd of space enthusiasts gathered at the gates of Satish Dhawan Space Center, which sits on an empty, bushy coastal plain.
Shortly before the launch, a huge crowd of space enthusiasts gathered at the gates. The weather was hot and muggy, around 90 degrees, with thick cloud cover and occasional drizzles. Cameras dangled from their necks and some, like Kaushal Vijay, 8, wore pins saying “I Love India.” It was hot and extremely muggy, the kind of weather in which sweat flows freely. Cameras dangled from the necks of spectators. Some people, like K. Kaushal, 8, wore pins saying “I Love India.”
“It’s going to be like a missile going to the moon!” he said. “A lot of fire and noise.” “It’s going to be like a missile going to the moon!” he said right before the launch. “A lot of fire and noise.”
His mother, Kswetha Vijay, said she had not hesitated to pull her children out of school for the day. As scientists began the countdown — “T minus five minutes,” “T minus one minute” — huge video screens in the space center’s media room alternated between live images of the rocket on the launchpad and shots of scientists and engineers at mission control, their faces all business.
“I feel proud for my kids to see this,” she said. The mission includes four components: a giant Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle — Mark III rocket (though it is much shorter and lighter than the Saturn V rocket that lifted the Apollo missions); an orbiter; a lander; and a six-wheeled rover.
Huge video screens in the space center’s media room alternated between live images of the rocket standing on the launchpad to shots of scientists and engineers sitting in rows in front of banks of computers at mission control. The purpose is to probe the south pole of the moon for the possibility of water ice and to study deposits of Helium-3, believed to be a future energy source for Earth.
The timing for this moon mission could not be more opportune. This weekend was the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on our little neighbor. All the anniversary coverage has uncapped a wave of moon fever around the world. Indian officials say their new generation of sensors, cameras and other equipment could lead to scientific breakthroughs more than 50 years after the first manned mission to the moon.
Indian space officials said the Apollo connection was just a coincidence. “Every Indian is immensely proud today!” the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, said on Twitter. “Indian at heart, Indian in spirit!”
India had planned to do this mission several years ago as something of a joint venture in space with Russia. But after the Russians backed out because of problems in their own space program, India needed to make all the systems itself, which caused a long delay. The mission was relatively inexpensive in space terms, costing less than $150 million — less than it cost to make the 2014 film “Interstellar.”
The mission includes four components: a giant Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle — Mark III rocket (though it is much shorter and lighter than the Saturn V rocket that lifted the Apollo missions); an orbiter; a lander; and the small rover. But Chandrayaan-2 will take much longer to reach the moon than the relatively straight shot made by the Apollo missions, which cost billions (the presence of humans added to the price tag).
The mission costs less than $150 million, but will take much longer than the relatively straight shot made by the Apollo missions, which cost billions (the presence of humans along for the ride added to the price tag). The Indian orbiter will conserve fuel by making ever-widening orbits around Earth before being captured by the moon’s gravity and pulled into lunar orbit.
The Indian orbiter will conserve fuel by making ever-widening orbits around the Earth before being captured by the moon’s gravity and pulled into lunar orbit. The whole journey will take more than five weeks. The big moment should come in early September. That’s when the lander is expected to break off from the orbiter and gently land on the moon’s surface.
The lander will then drop down from the orbiter. After it touches down on the moon, Chandrayaan’s little solar-powered rover will chug out. This is scheduled for early September. When an Israeli mission tried this in April, their lander crashed.
But the Indians are supremely confident they can do it.
The launch on Monday was “the beginning of a historical journey,” said K. Sivan, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, India’s version of NASA.
Mr. Sivan stood at a podium in mission control, and as he spoke, the scientists and engineers around him cheered. A week earlier, the first scheduled launch had been scrapped with less than an hour to go. Engineers had detected a loss of pressure in one of the helium tanks that are part of the rocket’s engine system.
But, Mr. Sivan said, “We fixed that technical snag now and ISRO bounced back with flying colors!” Huge applause broke out.
If the soft landing works, Chandrayaan’s little solar-powered rover will venture out and perform experiments, such as collecting soil samples from the moon’s crust.
The mission has been timed for the beginning of a moon day, so the rover can get maximum sunlight.The mission has been timed for the beginning of a moon day, so the rover can get maximum sunlight.
Making a soft landing will be the hardest part — an Israeli lander trying to do the same thing crashed on the moon in April. Indian scientists said that they had built a small cushion into their timing of orbiting the Earth and that the one-week delay would not affect the intended landing date.
Indian scientists had built a small cushion into their timing of orbiting the Earth and say the one-week delay will not affect the intended landing date. Vivek Singh, a spokesman for the space agency, admitted, “Some of our flexibility will be reduced.”
But, Mr. Singh admitted, “Some of our flexibility will be reduced.”