BREAKING NEWS GSLV MK3 instead of MK2 will be used for chandrayaan 2 missionhttp://ibnlive.in.com/news/india-plans-second-mars-mission-in-2018/509390-11.html
"We will be able to take the Mars-2 mission after launching the second mission to the moon (Chandrayaan-2) in 2016 with our own lander and rover, which will help us develop a separate lander and rover for the red planet," Kumar said
The space agency has developed the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-Mark I-III) with indigenous cryogenic engine to launch heavier satellites weighing more than two tonnes and three tonnes into the geo-orbit at 36,000 km above Earth.
"GSLV-Mark I-III will be used for Chandrayaan-2, which will have heavier payload than its predecessor (Chandrayaan-1) and later for Mars-2 mission, as both will have a lander and rover in addition to scientific experiments," he said.
The first development flight (GSLV Mk-III D1) with an operational cryogenic stage is planned between 2016 to 2017. The second development flight (GSLV Mk-III D2) is planned after one year of GSLV Mk-III D1 flight in 2017 to 2018.
Buoyed by the success, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K.S Radhakrishnan said the agency was forging ahead with plans to land an unnamed craft on the moon, along with a satellite to study the sun."The aim is three years from now, an Indian lander and Indian rover will land on the moon," he told AFP.
Preparations for the unmanned crew module are on track for a December launch:http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/all-set-to-put-unmanned-crew-module-into-orbit/article6631187.ece
Can anyone comment on why they aren't pushing the mission back a year rather than flying on the GSLV Mk II? I had thought that MOM was crammed onto a PSLV because the GSLV Mk III wasn't ready yet and planetary missions are considered too important to entrust to the (as I understand it) unreliable GSLV Mk II. Surely the same logic would preclude launching Chandrayaan 2 on a GSLV Mk II.
I understand that the GSLV Mk III is under development. I was asking why the mission isn't delayed until the Mk III is finished with development. The GSLV Mk II is just a Mk I with an indigenous CE-7.5 cryogenic engine rather than a Russian KVD-1 cryogenic engine for the third stage. The GSLV Mk I has a bad launch record, therefore most of the components of the Mk II have a bad launch record. Why is an important mission being placed on a launcher with questionable heritage? Is it that they believe all of the issues with the Mk II have been resolved?
Landing Stages