Chandrayaan-2 Moon landing live: How to watch livestream online

Chandrayaan-2 Moon landing live streaming

ISRO will put out the live updates of the Chandrayaan-2 mission on its website– isro.gov.in. The live stream of the launch will be available on PIB India YouTube channel. Doordarshan National YouTube channel is also expected to livestream the moon landing from the ISRO control room at the Satellite Control Centre in Bengaluru.

Chandrayaan-2 Moon Landing LIVE updates

ISRO will also post updates on its official Twitter handle. You can also catch live updates right here at the Indianexpress.com as well.

Chandrayaan-2 on its way to the Moon

The Vikram Lander separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter on Monday at 1:15 pm to start its descent towards the Moon. The orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in an orbit of 96 km x 125 km while the lander is using onboard propellers to perform de-manoeuvres to reach the lunar surface.

Read more: Chandrayaan-2 landing: 15 ‘terrifying’ minutes to history tonight 

On Wednesday, the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft performed second de-manoeuvre to enter an orbit of 35km x 101km around the Moon. ISRO says that with this manoeuvre the required orbit for the Vikram Lander to commence it descent towards the surface of the Moon is achieved.

Pragyan Rover mounted on the ramp projecting from out of the sides of vikram lander (File Photo: ISRO)

On July 22, the Chandrayaan-2 was launched via India’s heavy-lift rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III). The spacecraft comprises three segments– the orbiter, the lander Vikram, and the rover Pragyan.

What does the Chandrayaan-2 wish to achieve?

ISRO says that the Moon offers an undisturbed historical record of the inner Solar system environment and the best linkage to Earth’s history as well. Extensive mapping of the lunar surface is essential to trace back the origin and evolution of the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 will study the extent of water molecule distribution on the surface, the evidence of which was discovered by Chandrayaan-1.

“Chandrayaan-2 will attempt to soft-land the lander -Vikram and rover- Pragyan in a high plain between two craters, Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70° south,” says ISRO.

Also read | Chandrayaan-2 Explained: What Moon can hold for India

The reason why the Indian space agency is aiming to reach the lunar South Pole is that the lunar surface area under shadow here is much larger than that at the North Pole. So the possibility of the presence of water in this region is higher. In addition, the South Pole region has craters that are cold traps and contain a fossil record of the early Solar System.

Also read | Chandrayaan-2 moon landing today: PM Modi to watch it LIVE at ISRO HQ in Bengaluru

If everything goes as planned, India will become the fourth country ever to perform a soft-landing on Moon and the first country ever to touch down on the Moon’s south polar region. Since all the components in Chandrayaan-2 are made by ISRO itself, it is the first Indian mission to attempt a soft-landing on Moon to do so, and also the first Indian mission to explore the lunar terrain with indigenous technology.