India all set for second Moon mission: Chandrayaan-II is on schedule, says ISRO

India's second Moon mission Chandrayaan-II is on schedule. "We have to find out whether it is in March or not," says ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), on Friday, said India's second mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-II, is on schedule and the flight models are undergoing various tests before the launch.

ISRO informed that the soon-to-be-launched Chandrayaan-II would move around the lunar surface to explore it further.

When asked about the date of the launch, ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar said that it could either happen in March or at the later part of the year.

"It is on schedule. We have to find out whether it is in March or not," ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar was quoted by PTI.

India's space history reached another milestone when it marked its 100^th satellite launch of the PSLV-C40 Cartosat-2 series, on Friday.

The chairman also stated that Chandrayaan-II is getting ready for launch at the ISRO's Satellite Center.

The flight model is said to comprise of an orbiter, lander and a six-wheeled rover that would help move around the landing site and also help in analyzing the lunar surface even further.

The lander would separate from the orbiter after reaching the lunar orbit. Soon after a controlled descent, the lander will slowly reach the surface as the rover navigates afterwards.

Space enthusiasts across the nation would want to know if India has any manned mission to the moon planned in the future. This is what the ISRO Chief said when asked about it: "The possibility was always there for taking up such a mission but the government has to decide by giving resources."

The next launch in ISRO is reported to be a communication satellite. "We also have a number of launches, almost every month one launch, and we are going to work towards that," he added.

K Sivan will take over as the chairman of the ISRO after the retirement of Kumar later this month.

"We are trying to push the launch envelope to such an extent so that we have three of GSLV category and nine of PSLV category (this year). It is still quite a tough task. They are going through the process and it is targeted sometime next month (for launch)," Kumar was quoted by PTI.