The longer life of Chandrayaan-2 will help in studying the entire surface of the moon many times, said the former Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) A.S. Kiran Kumar here on Wednesday.
After inaugurating the three-day International Full-Dome Film Festival and Planetarium Conference at the Pilikula Regional Science Centre here, Mr. Kumar said, “It (Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft) has out-performed and has given better orbit than what we had anticipated. It gives longer life and we expect to study the entire moon many a times.”
This spacecraft, he said, would help in studying future events happening on the moon. “It will improve our knowledge about presence of water on the lunar surface.”
Though ISRO faced a setback on September 7 in its efforts to soft land lander Vikram on the lunar surface, Mr. Kumar said it was a significant achievement for the organisation to successfully carry out all manoeuvres and put the 3.4 tonne orbiter into the elliptical orbit, 3.8 lakh km away. “The lesson learnt now will help in future and do a better job,” he said.
The indigenously produced instruments in Chandayaan-2, he said, outperform the U.S.-made instruments used in Chandrayaan-1.
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which was launched by ISRO on November 5, 2013, was making significant contribution to the study of Mars. “This MOM has produced more number of full disc Mars images than any other satellites so far,” he said, and added that these images have helped in making a large number of observations.
The ISRO was now preparing for the launch of Aditya Satellite that will keep a continuous watch on the sun. Younger generation of scientists were being encouraged to contribute to the country’s space programme by providing satellites, Mr. Kumar said.
H. Honne Gowda, managing director of the Karnataka Science and Technology Promotion Society, who is the co-organiser of the event, said new 3D digital planetarium with 15-metre dome would shortly be inaugurated in Dharwad. Eight new digital planetariums with 10-metre dome each will come up in north Karnataka region. Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B. Rupesh said invites were being sent to educational institutions in the district asking them to bring their students for screening of 3D and 2D films at the 3D Hybrid planetarium.
