ISRO's second date with moon: March 2018 launch for Chandrayaan-2

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Atomic Energy and Space claimed that the launch will take place in the first quarter of 2018.

Chandrayaan 1

New Delhi: India is aiming for the Moon again, as Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) second unmanned moon mission, Chandrayaan 2, is set to lift off in March 2018, Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Atomic Energy and Space has announced.

He made these comments on the sidelines of the inaugural session of the 5-day Asian Conference on Remote Sensing at Delhi.

Dr Singh claimed that the launch will take place in the first quarter of 2018, mostly by the month of March.

Chandrayaan 2 will be launched aboard GSLV Mk 2, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

Chandrayaan 2 would consist of an orbiter, lander and rover and would weigh about 3,250 kg.

As per reports, the orbiter would be launched into a lunar orbit where the lander will separate, make a soft landing on the moon and deploy the rover.

India's second lunar probe would be an advanced version of ISRO's landmark mission of Chandrayaan 1, which was launch a decade earlier.