Mission to mars
“There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society.” These lines were stated by Dr Vikram Sarabhai in 1964.
Throughout the course of history, man has dreamed of stepping foot on another planet. The advances in technology in the 20th century have allowed man to do what at one time was considered unthinkable for millenniums before. With the advent of the modern space program in the early 1950’s, NASA has performed many inconceivable feats. They have sent and returned men to space. They’ve set up space stations orbiting the earth. They have allowed men to land on the moon, collect samples, and then return to the earth. They have sent spacecraft to explore comets and other planets. They have even sent space probes outside the known walls of this solar system. Recently, NASA has been spending billions of dollars in researching our second nearest planet, Mars.
The Indian Space Research Organisation is the primary space agency of India. Established in 1969 and with its Headquartered in Bengaluru, ISRO is under the administrative control of the Department of Space, Government of India. ISRO is amongst the six largest government space agencies in the world, along with USA’s NASA, Russia’sRKA, Europe’s ESA, China’s CNSA and Japan’s JAXA. Its primary objective is to advance space technology and use its applications for national benefit.
The Essay on Take up the white man’s burden/ send forth the best ye breed
“Take up the white man’s burden/ send forth the best ye breed -“Rudyard Kipling mockingly wrote in 1899, he was describing the aggressive European imperialism that took place in the 1880’s. In 1884 Africa was divided up among European nations, only two African countries remained independent. One may question, what the driving force behind this European imperialism was. Although technology, ...
ISRO has achieved numerous milestones since its establishment. India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, was built by ISRO and launched by the Soviet Union in 1975. Rohini, the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle, SLV-3, was launched in 1980. ISRO subsequently developed two other rockets: the Polar satellite launch Vehicle (PSLV) for putting satellites into polar orbits and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for placing satellites into geostationary orbits. These rockets have launched numerous communications satellites and earth observation satellite. In 2008, Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the Moon was launched.
Over the years, ISRO has conducted a variety of operations for both Indian and foreign clients. ISRO’s satellite launch capability is mostly provided by indigenous launch vehicles and launch sites. In 2008, ISRO successfully launched its first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, while future plans include indigenous development of GSLV, manned space missions, further lunar exploration, mars exploration and interplanetary probes. ISRO has several field installations as assets, and cooperates with the international community as a part of several bilateral and multilateral agreements.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), is a Mars orbiter launched into Earth orbit on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[9][10][11] The mission is a “technology demonstrator” project aiming to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission.[12]
The Mars Orbiter Mission probe lifted-off from the First Launch Pad at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh near Chennai, using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket C25 at 09:08 UTC (2:38 PM IST) on 5 November 2013.[13] The launch window was approximately 20 days long and started on 28 October 2013.[5] It is India’s first interplanetary mission and if successful, ISRO would become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and European Space Agency.[14]
The Term Paper on Chandrayaan – India’s Moon Mission
... Organisation (ISRO) has launched its first moon mission a few hours ago, using a domestically produced rocket system. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( ... is the picture of moon's surface taken from lunar orbit by Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft's Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) on ... the launch of Chandrayaan-2, ISRO plans to launch a manned mission to the moon, by 2015. ISRO also plans a mission to Mars that ...
The MOM mission began with a feasibility study in 2010, after the launch of lunar satellite Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.
The launch was scheduled for 5 November 2013.[26] The PSLV rocket lifted off at 09:08 UTC (2:38 p.m. IST), and placed the satellite into Earth orbit at 09:50 UTC,[27] with a perigee of 264.1 km, an apogee of 23,903.6 km, and inclination of 19.20 degrees,[28] with both the antenna and all three sections of the solar panel arrays being deployed.[29]
The primary objective of the Mars Orbiter Mission is to showcase India’s rocket launch systems, spacecraft-building and operations capabilities.[39] Specifically, the primary objective is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission, comprising the following major tasks:[12]
* Design and realisation of a Mars orbiter with a capability to perform Earth-bound manoeuvres, cruise phase of 300 days, Mars orbit insertion / capture, and on-orbit phase around Mars.
* Deep-space communication, navigation, mission planning and management.
* Incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.
The secondary objective is to explore Mars’ surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere using indigenous scientific instruments
The spacecraft structure and propulsion hardware configurations are similar to Chandrayaan 1, India’s first robotic lunar orbiter that operated from 2008 to 2009, with specific improvements and upgrades needed for a Mars specific mission.[39]
Mass
The lift-off mass was 1,350 kg (2,980 lb), including 852 kg (1,878 lb) of propellant mass.
The Term Paper on India–Russia Relations
Indo-Russian relations refer to the bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the Russian Federation. During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union (USSR) enjoyed a strong strategic, military, economic and diplomatic relationship. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia inherited the close relationship with India, even as India improved its relations with the West after the end of the ...
Dimensions
Cuboid in shape of approximately 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Bus
The spacecraft’s bus is a modified I-1 K structure and propulsion hardware configurations similar to Chandrayaan 1, India’s lunar orbiter that operated from 2008 to 2009, with specific improvements and upgrades needed for a Mars mission.[39] The satellite structure is of aluminum and composite fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) sandwich construction.
Power
Electric power is generated by three solar array panels of 1.8 × 1.4 m (5 ft 10 in × 4 ft 7 in) each (7.56 m2 (81.4 sq ft) total), for a maximum of 840 W generation in Martian orbit. Electricity is stored in a 36 Ah Li-ion battery.[1]
Propulsion
Liquid fuel engine of 440 N thrust is used for orbit raising and insertion in Martian orbit.
Communications
Two 230 W TWTAs and two coherent transponders. The antenna array consists of a low-gain antenna, a medium-gain antenna and a high-gain antenna. The High-gain antenna system is based on a single 2.2 meter reflector illuminated by a feed at S-band. It is used to transmit and receive the telemetry, tracking, commanding and data to and from the Indian Deep Space Network.[1]
Before India, five nations have launched Mars missions. Just because the previous Mars missions did not find anything conclusive about methane or water or other indicators of life doesn’t mean that the Indian mission may not find any. Critics had put forth a similar argument when India was preparing for Chandrayaan-1, but the moon mission found something even men who walked on moon could not: moisture in the polar region of moon.
