Discussion
The location of the planned prime landing site for Vikram Lander on Chandrayaan-2 was SLS54, which is located at 70.9S and 22.8E on the Moon. Consider the following statements regarding the selection of the potential landing site.
(i) Visible to Earth for radio communication.
(ii) Water ice has been mapped at the site earlier by Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter mission.
(iii) Local terrain features such that they don't shadow the site for long durations.
Which of the following statements above is/are correct ?
Answer: B
Statements (i) and (iii) are correct, so the answer is (i) and (iii).
The landing site for Vikram was chosen for safety and for the lander's ability to work. It had to be visible from Earth, so the lander could communicate directly with the ground stations (i), and it had to receive sunlight, with no nearby terrain casting long shadows over it, because the lander ran on solar power (iii). Gentle slopes and few boulders and craters were the other criteria.
Statement (ii) is wrong. Water ice survives in permanently shadowed craters near the poles, which are exactly the places a solar-powered lander must avoid, and the chosen site was not one where the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter had mapped ice. Any option containing (ii) is therefore wrong.
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