October 22, 2O18 marks the 10th anniversary of Chandrayaan-1, India's first planetary probe to the Moon. It was in 2008 that the PSLV carrying Chandrayaan-1 soared into the sky, to conduct a range of Indian and international experiments. Days later on November 8, Chandrayaan-1 reached the polar orbit around the Moon, deciding the future of India’s planetary exploration. Chandrayaan-I operated for almost a year - between October 2008 to August 2009, and is best known for helping to discover evidence of water molecules on the moon. For this crucial finding, it received an international award as well. 10 years later India is all set to send its second probe to the Moon - Chandrayaan-2. The Rs 800-crore unmanned mission is expected to take-off in January next year. The lander and rover on Chandrayaan-2 will touchdown at a site 600 kilometers from the lunar South pole. If successful, this would be the first time any moon mission landed so far from the equator. In this episode of In Depth, we talk about India's tryst with Moon, the significant findings of Chandrayaan-1 and the hopes riding on the Chandyaan-2 mission.
