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Chandrayaan-2: Launch to the Moon cost half as much as Avengers: Endgame

Chandrayaan-2: Launch to the Moon cost half as much as Avengers: Endgame

On July 22, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), NASA equivalent in India, successfully sent a spacecraft to the Moon. With a mission to study the lunar soil, it would have cost, according to the organization, two times cheaper than the movie Avengers: Endgames. 

Chandrayaan-2, its name ("  lunar vehicle  " in Sanskrit) was launched this July 22nd. Originally scheduled for July 15, the launch of the probe had to be postponed one hour before its original departure because of a "  technical fault ". Repaired this week she was able to take off this Monday at 14:43, local time, and in clear, before millions of Indians who hastened to congratulate the space agency on social networks.

An inexpensive space program


Launched from the Satish - Dhawan Space Center, on the island of Sriharikota in Andra Pradesh, the space probe is the most powerful one developed by India to date. 

The Indian Space Research Organization ( ISRO ), however, is not at its first attempt since the agency sent, in 2008, Chandrayaan-1, which at the time confirmed the presence of water in lunar craters. In 2014, an orbiter was sent to Mars for $ 74 million, when NASA, sent the same year, cost about $ 671 million. 

Finally, in 2017, ISRO deployed 104 satellites in less than 18 minutes.

If the Chandrayaan-2 program proved to be a success, India would be the fourth country to send a spacecraft to the moon after the US, China, and Russia, confirming its presence in the race for space discovery. 
In addition, this mission testifies that ISRO specialized in low-cost space exploration: the organization has indeed revealed that Chandrayaan-2 cost $ 141 million, where, noticeably, the film Marvel Avengers: Endgame cost over $ 356 million!

What we know about the program


The 43-meter high space probe contains an orbiter, a lunar lander named Vikram (in honor of Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of the Indian Space Agency) and a six-wheeled launcher called Pragyan ("  wisdom  " in Sanskrit). 

The lunar lander will detach from the orbiter between 6 and 7 September and is expected to land near the South Pole of the Moon, between Simpelius N craters and Manzinus C, "  where no country has ever been before  " ISRO. 

Chandrayaan-2is equipped with spectrometers and cameras. Until September, the probe will remain in an elliptical orbit. The orbiter will work this way for a year, but the undercarriage and the exploration vehicle will only work for two weeks. Two weeks during which the mission will have to map the lunar South Pole, search for water, measure lunar earthquakes and ground temperature, which has never been done in this region of the satellite. 

Building on its successes, ISRO has unveiled its wish to launch its own space station in 2022. Called Gaganyaan ("  space vehicle  " in Sanskrit), it should be inaugurated to celebrate75 years of independence from India. The Indian government is already supporting this company since it would fund the agency to the tune of 100 billion rupees, or about 1.3 billion euros. 

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