Everything going according to plan: ISRO chief
NL Correspondent
Bengaluru, Sept 06
Hours before Chandrayaan-2's ‘Vikram' module's proposed soft-landing on the Lunar surface, ISRO Chairman K Sivan said on Friday that things are progressing as per plan for the much-awaited event.
“We are eagerly waiting for the event. Everything is going according to the plan,” Sivan told on Friday.
The touch-down of ‘Vikram' lander is scheduled between 1.30 am and 2.30 am on Saturday, followed by the rollout of rover ‘Pragyan' between 5.30 am and 6.30 am.
The soft-landing will be telecast live from 1.10 am on Doordarshan, webcast on ISRO website and streamed on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
“Certainly, there is a lot of anxiety in the minds of the entire (Chandrayaan-2) team because it's a very complex operation and we are doing it for the first time,” a senior official associated with the mission, said on condition of anonymity.
“Everything…sensors, computers, command systems…has to work perfectly. But we are confident in the sense we have conducted a large number of simulations on the ground; it gives us the confidence it would go all right,” the official said.
He described the soft-landing as “almost like placing a baby on the cradle”, saying, “There is certain amount of anxiety but there is no fear.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dozens of students from across the country selected by ISRO though an online quiz, a large media contingent and others are slated to watch the event as it happens, from the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) here.
As India attempts a soft-landing on the lunar surface, all eyes will be on the lander ‘Vikram' and rover ‘Pragyan'.
The 1,471-kg ‘Vikram', named after Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, father of the Indian space programme, is designed to execute a soft-landing on the lunar surface, and to function for one lunar day, which is equivalent to about 14 earth days.
Chandrayaan-2's 27-kg robotic vehicle ‘Pragyan', which translates to ‘wisdom' in Sanskrit, can travel up to 500 metres from the landing spot on the moon and leverages solar energy for its functioning.
