A senior Indian space scientist reported on Thursday that the orbiter of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which was previously considered a failure after the module's crash landing at the Moon's south pole, is still functioning and is being used for planning and conducting India's subsequent lunar missions.
During the AEDEX conference held in Yashoboomi, Anil Bhardwaj, Director of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) from Ahmedabad, part of the Department of Space Research, noted that it was the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter that provided ISRO with crucial information about suitable landing sites for the Chandrayaan-3 module.
The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, launched in 2019, is currently in lunar orbit. According to Bhardwaj, it possesses the highest resolution among all instruments operating on the Moon and is now being utilized for future tasks.
The orbiter carried eight scientific payloads designed to study the lunar surface, minerals, and exosphere. It is equipped with the OHRC camera, which provides a spatial resolution of approximately 0.25 meters (25 cm) to 0.32 meters per pixel from a lunar orbit at an altitude of 100 kilometers.
The PRL Director added that sensors have been developed for the Chandrayaan-4 mission to aid in the landing and return of lunar samples to Earth. Regarding Chandrayaan-5, it will be a joint mission with the Japanese agency JAXA, where the module will attempt to land in a permanently shadowed region of the Moon near the south pole that has never been illuminated by the sun.
This upcoming flight will present a complex challenge as the rover explores this area for the first time. Unique sensors are planned for installation there to gather data on water distribution. Bhardwaj also mentioned that India is working on high-tech in-situ sensors, as well as developing a heating system so that the module can withstand freezing temperatures for 14 Earth nights (one lunar night lasts 14 Earth days).