Mangalyaan - India's Mission to Mars

                                                

Mangalyaan is a Mars Mission by ISRO ( Indian Space Research Organization ) scheduled to be launched in the month of November 2013. India will launch by PSLV Rocket ( Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ). It is expected to reach into Mars' orbit in the month of September or October 2014. India will have to speed up its process as Mars' moon will be nearest to Earth in 2014 September. For this, India will have to launch in end of 2013 to reach its destination, conserving time and fuel. India is the third Asian Country to attempt Mars Mission, and if it will reach its destination, would become the fourth country to reach Mars. 

Mission Tactics

Launch is scheduled in the month of November 2013 to reach Mars in September 2014. It will be launched using PSLV Rocket in the coast of Bay of Bengal, Sriharikota.

News from ISRO Website

The main objective of this first Indian mission to Mars is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission, comprising the following major tasks:

Orbit maneuvers to transfer the probe from Earth-centered orbit to heliocentric trajectory and finally capture into Martian orbit.

Development of force models and algorithms for orbit and attitude computations and analyses.

Navigation in all phases.

Maintain the probe in all phases of the mission meeting power, communications, thermal and payload operation requirements.

Incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.

The 15 kg (33 lb) scientific payload consists of five instruments:

• Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer (MENCA)
• Methane Sensor For Mars (MSM)
• Mars Color Camera (MCC)
• Probe For Infrared Spectroscopy for Mars (PRISM)
• Lyman-alpha photometer - would measure atomic hydrogen in the Martian atmosphere.

NASA's Help

NASA will help mission Mangalyaan in tracking. It's Deep Space Network is currently operating the Curiosity Rover on Mars.   

                                                                                                                        Article by M. Santosh
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