Mars Mission

Unknown   October 17, 2013   Experiments   Comment  

Mars Orbiter Mission

Mission type: Mars orbiter

Operator: ISRO

Website: MOM

Mission duration: 300 days

Spacecraft properties

Manufacturer ISAC

Launch mass: 1,350 kg (2,980 lb)[1]

Start of mission

Launch date: 28 October 2013, 10:45 UTC[2]

Rocket: PSLV-XL C25[1]

Launch site: Satish Dhawan FLP

Contractor: ISRO

Orbital parameters

Reference system Areocentric

Periareon : 377 km (234 mi)

Apoareon: 80,000 km (50,000 mi)

Inclination: 17.864 degrees [3]

Epoch: Planned

Mars orbiter

Orbital insertion 21 September 2014[4] (Planned)
. Preparations are afoot in Sriharikota for the launch of Mars Orbiter Mission Mangalyaan on PSLV C25, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said. The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), informally called Mangalyaan (Sanskrit: मंगलयान, Hindi: Mars-craft) by the media, is a planned Mars orbiter to be launched in October 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission is a "technology demonstrator" project aiming to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission. The Mars Orbiter Mission probe will lift off from ISRO's launch site at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV) rocket in 28 October 2013. The launch window available is for about 20 days starting 28 October.This will be India's first mission to Mars. "The exact date and time of the launch will be decided in a meeting on October 17. So by October 18, we will get to know the exact time and date of the launch," he told reporters here. On the launch of the GSLV D5, which was called off on August 19 after detection of a fuel leak, he said, "We are working on the GSLV for its launch in December." ISRO had stopped the countdown 74 minutes ahead of the scheduled launch at 1650 hours after noticing the leakage. Once launched, Mars Orbiter Mission would go around the Earth for 20-25 days before embarking on a nine-month voyage to the red planet. The primary objectives of the Mars mission are to demonstrate India's technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around the planet and conduct meaningful experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of Mars and study the Martian environment.
Current status
On 5 August 2013 ISRO started the assembly of the PSLV-XL designated C-25. They completed the integration of the five scientific instruments at spacecraft checkout room at ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, and the finished spacecraft was shipped to Sriharikotta on 2 October 2013. The satellite's development was fast-tracked and completed in a record 15 months. On 5 October 2013, ISRO released a press statement stating that NASA would provide communications and navigation support to the mission despite the US government shutdown; the mission is still scheduled for launch on the afternoon of 28 October 2013.
Objectives
First, the Mars orbiter showcases the country's rocket launch systems, spacecraft-building and operations capabilities. Second, the probe carries a high-tech suite of sensors to explore Mars' surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere using indigenous scientific instruments. 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: • 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 objectives are scientific, and include the study of Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and the Martian atmosphere.