The probe is slated to launch in 2013, long after China's current Chang'e 2 moon mission ends.China launched the Chang'e 2 probe on Oct. 1. It reached the moon Wednesday (Oct. 5).India, meanwhile, approved plans for its Chandrayaan 2 mission in August. But unlike China's new probe, which is an orbiter, Chandrayaan 2 actually includes three vehicles: an orbiter, lander and rover, the Indian Space Research Organisation said.
Does it mean all major missions till Chandrayaan-2 will only use indigenous engines? Since the Russian engine has to be examined, will Chandrayaan-2 be delayed?Yes, it has to be tested on indigenous cryogenic engines, and we’ll only use our engines for future launches, but that is not why there will be a delay. Historically, the Chandrayaan missions are a joint Indo-Soviet mission. The agreement was that the lander [that will descend on the moon] and the (lunar) rover (a robot vehicle) would be provided by the Russians. We wanted to put a smaller rover; it’s something new that we are developing. However, in Russia there was a rethink. They decided they’ll only develop the lander and some instruments related to it. That means India would have to make a bigger rover, a decision taken almost a year ago. There are also preliminary design reviews to be undertaken this year to select which instruments are to be carried onboard the mission. So it’s not only GSLV (engines); there are other reasons for the delay.
Russian sources say that the failure of the Phobos-Grunt mission will impact the Chandrayaan-2 mission, delaying it by 3 years:http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2854134.eceThis is because technologies and systems used in Phobos-Grunt are also present in the Russian lander which is to be used for the Chandrayaan-2 mission, and these will have to be subjected to review.The Chandrayaan-2 mission was originally scheduled for launch in 2013, but was facing delays due to the 2 consecutive failures of the GSLV. The mission is now expected to be delayed until 2016, due to the failure of Phobos-Grunt.Here's an image of the prototype Chandrayaan-2 lunar rover being developed at IIT-Kanpur:http://lunarnetworks.blogspot.com/2010/08/chandrayaan-2-rover-prototype.html