Chandrayaan-2 entering Lunar orbit, a tense 30-minute operation: ISRO chairman

“It's a tense 30 minute operation', he said. He said tension and anxiety kept building on as the clock ticked, but it was a great relief and joy when the spacecraft was put into the lunar orbit successfully.

As the Chandrayaan-2 entered the lunar orbit, about 200 scientists at the Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru, which has been round-the-clock monitoring the spacecraft ever since its launch on July 22 from the spaceport of Sriharikota, turned jubilant, as they hugged and shook hands with each other.

With the insertion of Chandrayaan-2 into the lunar orbit, the spacecraft began its challenging journey for a soft landing on the moon's South Polar region, hitherto an unexplored frontier by any country in the world so far.

On the successful insertion into the Lunar obit, ISRO tweeted 'nearing our destination'.

'Today after the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI), #Chandrayaan2 is now in Lunar orbit. Lander Vikram will soft land on Moon on September 7', it said.

After the successful launch, Chandrayaan-2, carrying an Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and six-wheeled robotic Rover (Pragyan), commenced its 3.844 lakh km, 48-day long journey for a soft landing on the Moon's South Pole.

Weighing 3,850 kg, Chandrayaan-2 was carrying 13 Indian Payloads (eight on Orbiter, 3 on Lander and two on Rover) and one passive experiment from NASA.

While the technical difficulties of landing on the Moon's South Polar region have deterred many previous attempts, Chandrayaan-2 will be the first to reach this part of the lunar surface- taking the Indian Tri-colour where no human has been before.