Fifth earth bound orbit raising maneuver for Chandryaan-2 spacecraft has been performed successfully today (August 6, 2019) at 1504 hrs (IST) as planned, using the onboard propulsion system for a firing duration of 1041 seconds. The orbit achieved is 276 x 142975 km.

Chandrayaan-2 is the forthcoming science mission to continue our study on the origin and evolution of the Moon. It carries 8 Orbiter payloads, 3 Lander payloads, 2 Rover payloads and a passive experiment contributed by NASA. To maximise the science outcome from this mission and to increase the user base, a series of science meetings were planned. The first one in the series was conducted on September 27th, 2018.

In this context, the second Lunar Science Meet was organised at ISRO HQ during June 13 – 14, 2019 and brought together 60 scientists and researchers from various research institutions, universities, colleges, ISRO centres and laboratories. Data analysis methodology of four Orbiter payloads, such as Infrared Spectrometer, Synthetic Aperture Radar, X-ray Spectrometer and Mass Spectrometer covering the steps involved in converting the payload data to science products was discussed in detail, by payload teams. The seven thematic science working groups, presented their plan to utilise data from multiple Chandrayaan-2 payloads. Working group members discussed within their groups and cross-group interactions were also enabled on both the days.

During the science meet, the Indian lunar science community was also briefed about the future lunar program which is envisaged as a joint ISRO – JAXA lunar polar exploration mission.