Chandrayaan-2 to reach moon''s orbit on August 20: ISRO
Ahmedabad: India's second moon mission 'Chandrayaan-2' is expected to reach the moon's orbit on August 20 and land on the lunar surface on September 7, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Sivan said on Monday.
The spacecraft is all set to leave the earth's orbit after two days, he told reporters here. Sivan was on the city to take part in the birth centenary celebrations of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, regarded as the father of India's space programme.
The 3,850-kg Chandrayaan-2, a three-module spacecraft comprising orbiter, lander and rover, which was launched on July 22, would make a landing on the moon on September 7, the ISRO chief said.
"After launching Chandrayaan-2 on July 22, we did five maneuvers. The Chandrayaan-2 composite body is now revolving around the earth," he said.
The next very important and crucial maneuver will happen on Wednesday morning. "At around 3.30 am on August 14, we are going to have a maneuver called trans-lunar injection. By this maneuver, the Chandrayaan-2 will leave the earth and move towards the moon.
On August 20, we will be reaching the moon," he said.
"Then, we will be carrying out lunar orbit insertion. By this process, the Chandrayaan-2 will be around the moon on August 20. Subsequently, we have planned to have a series of maneuvers around the moon and finally on September 7, we will be landing on the moon near its south pole," he added.
Sivan said the spacecraft was "doing very well" at present and all its systems were functioning properly.
He said scientists at the ISRO will be busy in coming months, particularly in December when the space agency would take up a mission to launch small satellites.
"In December, we are going to have a very important mission. It's a small satellite launcher. This is for the first time we are going to have this mission," he said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
