India's Chandrayaan-2 set to make historic Moon landing

By Ali Murat Alhas
ANKARA (AA) - India is all set to make its first Moon landing later this week.

The unmanned space mission Chandrayaan-2 (Moon vehicle) has now entered its final leg with all eyes on the Moon landing.

The lander which will be dropped on the south polar region of the Moon, where no other country has reached so far, has detached from the orbiter. Scientists claim there is a possibility of the presence of water in this region.

“The Vikram Lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter at 1315 hrs IST today... All systems of the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter and lander are healthy,” the Indian Space Research Organization said in a tweet on Monday.

The mission comprises of three parts, the orbiting spacecraft, the lander, and a rover called Pragyan.

Over the next five days the lander will inch toward the Moon surface and try to make a soft landing. In the next step, scientists will release the rover which is designed to identify the chemical composition of the Moon surface.

If successful, India will join the ranks of the U.S., China and Russia in space technology.

India plans to send its manned spacecraft to space by 2022.