Explained: Where will Chandrayaan-2 land near moon's South Pole

New Delhi: On September 7, Chandrayaan-2 will land at the south polar region if the moon, a place where no one else has ever gone before. Once the spacecraft makes a soft landing on the moon, India will become the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to achieve the feat.

The mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22. After revolving around the earth's orbit for nearly 23 days, Chandrayaan-2 began its journey to the moon on August 14. 

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will be the first Indian expedition to carry out a soft landing on the lunar surface. 

Chandrayaan-2, which comprises of an Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan), is expected to land on moon at 1:30 am and 2:30 am. But do you know where exactly will it land? 

As per a report published in space.com the spot is a highland that rises between two craters dubbed Manzinus C and Simpelius N. On a grid of the moon's surface, it would fall at 70.9 degrees south latitude and 22.7 degrees east longitude. It's about 375 miles (600 kilometers) from the south pole.

Space.com also said that ISRO has selected the backup site at 67.7 degrees south latitude and 18.4 degrees west longitude.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru on Saturday to watch the final descent of Chandrayaan-2 on the Moon's surface.

While speaking to news agency ANI, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief K Sivan said that they are confident about the soft landing and waiting for tonight.

"We have done our jobs very well, now we are waiting for tonight`s result. This would be a big event as PM Modi will also be coming tonight to watch the final descent of Chandrayaan-2," he said.