Six years of Chandrayaan-2: How ISRO’s lunar mission reshaped India’s Moon programme

July 22, 2026 1:04 PM

Six years of Chandrayaan-2: How ISRO’s lunar mission reshaped India’s Moon programme

Six years ago, on July 22, 2019, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Chandrayaan-2, India's second mission to the Moon and its first attempt at a soft lunar landing. Although the Vikram lander did not achieve a successful touchdown, the mission marked a significant technological milestone. Its orbiter continues to study the Moon and generate valuable scientific data years after launch, while the mission also validated several critical technologies and generated engineering ins...

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 detects solar impact on Moon’s atmosphere

October 19, 2025 8:50 AM

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 detects solar impact on Moon’s atmosphere

In a landmark scientific breakthrough, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that its lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-2 has made the first-ever observation of the effects of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) from the Sun on the Moon’s exosphere. The observation was made using the Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) instrument onboard the orbiter. During a rare solar event on May 10, 2024, a series of CMEs impacted the Moon, leading to a significant increase in th...