Indian Space Capabilities
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nitesh
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ok guys here comes plan for chandrayaan 2
Chandrayaan 2 likely next year end or 2010: ISRO
Chandrayaan-2 likely next year end or 2010: ISRO
PTI
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 AT 1:10 PM
Tags: space
SRIHARIKOTA: After the successful launch of India’s first unmanned mission to moon, Chandrayaan-1, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to send its second lunar odyssey, Chandrayaan-2, an Indo-Russian joint venture, likely by the end of next year or early 2010.
The work on this project would be taken up after Chandrayaan-1 starts its task of researching the moon, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told reporters here after the PSLV-C11 launched the spacecraft.
“One of the two GSLV missions next year could carry Chandrayaan-2,” he said.
The team behind the success of the first mission would work on Chandrayaan-2 also, he added.
However, the composition of the instruments for Chandrayaan-2 would be decided after studying the data received from the first mission, he said.
The second mission, for which the ISRO and Russian federal space agency have already signed a pact, would feature a lander and a rover for a soft land on moon.
“However, there would be a provision for accommodating payloads from other space agencies as is the case of Chandrayaan 1,” Nair said.
In addition to India’s five payloads, Chandrayaan-1 is carrying scientific instruments of the European Space Agency, Bulgaria and the USA.
Chandrayaan 2 likely next year end or 2010: ISRO
Chandrayaan-2 likely next year end or 2010: ISRO
PTI
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 AT 1:10 PM
Tags: space
SRIHARIKOTA: After the successful launch of India’s first unmanned mission to moon, Chandrayaan-1, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to send its second lunar odyssey, Chandrayaan-2, an Indo-Russian joint venture, likely by the end of next year or early 2010.
The work on this project would be taken up after Chandrayaan-1 starts its task of researching the moon, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told reporters here after the PSLV-C11 launched the spacecraft.
“One of the two GSLV missions next year could carry Chandrayaan-2,” he said.
The team behind the success of the first mission would work on Chandrayaan-2 also, he added.
However, the composition of the instruments for Chandrayaan-2 would be decided after studying the data received from the first mission, he said.
The second mission, for which the ISRO and Russian federal space agency have already signed a pact, would feature a lander and a rover for a soft land on moon.
“However, there would be a provision for accommodating payloads from other space agencies as is the case of Chandrayaan 1,” Nair said.
In addition to India’s five payloads, Chandrayaan-1 is carrying scientific instruments of the European Space Agency, Bulgaria and the USA.
nitesh
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India now has outer space in its sights- ET Cetera-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times
India now has outer space in its sights
22 Oct, 2008, 1123 hrs IST,Mukul Sharma, TNN
Sometime earlier today, weather permitting, a modified version of India’s main Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle should have lifted off from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. Atop its nosecone it will be ferrying a 575 kg spacecraft called Chandrayaan-1 which, if all goes well, will ultimately orbit the Moon for a period of about two years. During that time it will also release a smaller impact probe to slam into the lunar surface to help explore it from close range.
But why on earth are we going to the Moon at all, and that too at a cost of nearly Rs 400 crore? Surely there are other pressing priorities back home like poverty, literacy, medical care, infrastructure development etc that need urgent attention and the taxpayers’ money. Besides, why are we doing this now when others have done it several decades ago?
The former Soviet Union and the United States both launched successful lunar orbiting satellites way back in 1966.
We’re told that, among other things, the mission will try to source non-radioactive Helium-3 which is scarce on Earth but believed to be abundant on its natural satellite and is seen as a promising fuel for advanced fusion reactors in the future. Once located, we can transport it back from the moon to run nuclear plants and generate abundant electricity. Apparently, a couple of tonnes of Helium-3 are enough to meet the energy needs of the world. So how come other advanced nations of the world haven’t thought along similar lines?
They also tell us Chandrayaan will pave the way for future manned missions to the Moon. But the Americans have already been there and done that nine times with a flurry of 27 astronauts between 1968 and 1972 and haven’t gone back since. The Russians, despite their awesome expertise in space travel, haven’t done it at all. Obviously it’s either not that important or no big deal. Or are we missing something here?
We are. It’s the bigger picture which ultimately involves the colonisation of Moon and Mars. Most everything else about Chandrayaan — whether it’s a show of strength to demonstrate that what China does we can too, or to develop terrestrial military missile options, or benefit from technology spin-offs and generate more jobs and get young people interested in such science — is, at best, unenduring. Even the national pride associated with becoming a full member of an elite club of super space powers, thus announcing India’s place in the world, is an ephemeral phenomenon.
Earlier this year, the renowned Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking had seen this same picture when he called for a massive investment in establishing colonies on the Moon and Mars. “If the human race is to continue for another million years” , he said, “we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before.” Of course, he also saw it as an insurance policy against the possibility of human beings being wiped out by catastrophes like nuclear war and climate change. Ever since humans came out of Africa, exploration has always been in their blood. Yesterday it was the New World, today it’s Antarctica, tomorrow the solar system.
This is the real reason why, after the famously fought face-saving “me first” duel to go to the Moon in the 1960s, the two original space-faring countries ducked the effort completely. Instead, what the Russians — and later the Americans — concentrated on quietly for long decades was in putting its astronauts for longer and longer periods on the orbiting Mir space station and the International Space Station (ISS). They wanted to study the effects of weightlessness on the human body. The information is vital for making long duration journeys to, say, Mars which can last anything from six to nine months one way.
In fact, besides serving as a research facility, the whole idea of building space stations is also for furthering lunar and other interplanetary voyage options. According to NASA the ISS has a key role to play as it moves forward with a new focus for its manned space programme, which is to go out beyond the Earth orbit. The ISS is now a stepping stone. The crews will not only continue to learn how to live and work in space but also how to build hardware that can survive and function for the years required to make the round-trip voyage from Earth to Mars. Is it any surprise then that China too plans on building one in the future?
Or that after Chandrayaan-2 , which is scheduled for some time between 2010 and 2012, and a manned mission to the Moon, ISRO has Mars in its sights? Last year, the principal scientific investigator to the Chandrayaan mission, J N Goswami, said that scientists had indeed begun studies about a mission to Mars. And K Kasturirangan, former ISRO chief, has stated that a mission to Mars by India is a logical extension to the moon flight.
That’s why Chandrayaan-1 should be heading for the Moon today — because it’s only a matter of time before humanity starts moving out from Earth. Therefore, it’s good the country is considering at least some of its priorities to be in outer space too. It shows that, in the future, India can also be an enduring part of that outward movement.
India now has outer space in its sights
22 Oct, 2008, 1123 hrs IST,Mukul Sharma, TNN
Sometime earlier today, weather permitting, a modified version of India’s main Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle should have lifted off from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. Atop its nosecone it will be ferrying a 575 kg spacecraft called Chandrayaan-1 which, if all goes well, will ultimately orbit the Moon for a period of about two years. During that time it will also release a smaller impact probe to slam into the lunar surface to help explore it from close range.
But why on earth are we going to the Moon at all, and that too at a cost of nearly Rs 400 crore? Surely there are other pressing priorities back home like poverty, literacy, medical care, infrastructure development etc that need urgent attention and the taxpayers’ money. Besides, why are we doing this now when others have done it several decades ago?
The former Soviet Union and the United States both launched successful lunar orbiting satellites way back in 1966.
We’re told that, among other things, the mission will try to source non-radioactive Helium-3 which is scarce on Earth but believed to be abundant on its natural satellite and is seen as a promising fuel for advanced fusion reactors in the future. Once located, we can transport it back from the moon to run nuclear plants and generate abundant electricity. Apparently, a couple of tonnes of Helium-3 are enough to meet the energy needs of the world. So how come other advanced nations of the world haven’t thought along similar lines?
They also tell us Chandrayaan will pave the way for future manned missions to the Moon. But the Americans have already been there and done that nine times with a flurry of 27 astronauts between 1968 and 1972 and haven’t gone back since. The Russians, despite their awesome expertise in space travel, haven’t done it at all. Obviously it’s either not that important or no big deal. Or are we missing something here?
We are. It’s the bigger picture which ultimately involves the colonisation of Moon and Mars. Most everything else about Chandrayaan — whether it’s a show of strength to demonstrate that what China does we can too, or to develop terrestrial military missile options, or benefit from technology spin-offs and generate more jobs and get young people interested in such science — is, at best, unenduring. Even the national pride associated with becoming a full member of an elite club of super space powers, thus announcing India’s place in the world, is an ephemeral phenomenon.
Earlier this year, the renowned Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking had seen this same picture when he called for a massive investment in establishing colonies on the Moon and Mars. “If the human race is to continue for another million years” , he said, “we will have to boldly go where no one has gone before.” Of course, he also saw it as an insurance policy against the possibility of human beings being wiped out by catastrophes like nuclear war and climate change. Ever since humans came out of Africa, exploration has always been in their blood. Yesterday it was the New World, today it’s Antarctica, tomorrow the solar system.
This is the real reason why, after the famously fought face-saving “me first” duel to go to the Moon in the 1960s, the two original space-faring countries ducked the effort completely. Instead, what the Russians — and later the Americans — concentrated on quietly for long decades was in putting its astronauts for longer and longer periods on the orbiting Mir space station and the International Space Station (ISS). They wanted to study the effects of weightlessness on the human body. The information is vital for making long duration journeys to, say, Mars which can last anything from six to nine months one way.
In fact, besides serving as a research facility, the whole idea of building space stations is also for furthering lunar and other interplanetary voyage options. According to NASA the ISS has a key role to play as it moves forward with a new focus for its manned space programme, which is to go out beyond the Earth orbit. The ISS is now a stepping stone. The crews will not only continue to learn how to live and work in space but also how to build hardware that can survive and function for the years required to make the round-trip voyage from Earth to Mars. Is it any surprise then that China too plans on building one in the future?
Or that after Chandrayaan-2 , which is scheduled for some time between 2010 and 2012, and a manned mission to the Moon, ISRO has Mars in its sights? Last year, the principal scientific investigator to the Chandrayaan mission, J N Goswami, said that scientists had indeed begun studies about a mission to Mars. And K Kasturirangan, former ISRO chief, has stated that a mission to Mars by India is a logical extension to the moon flight.
That’s why Chandrayaan-1 should be heading for the Moon today — because it’s only a matter of time before humanity starts moving out from Earth. Therefore, it’s good the country is considering at least some of its priorities to be in outer space too. It shows that, in the future, India can also be an enduring part of that outward movement.
nitesh
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nice pictures here about the humble begining:
India's space journey started from a village church-Thiru'puram-Cities-The Times of India
India's space journey started from a village church
22 Oct 2008, 0107 hrs IST, Srinivas Laxman, TNN
T’PURAM: Far from the research stations and labs, India's space programme began at a church in what was once a tiny fishing village called Thumba, not far from Thiruvanathanapuram airport in Kerala.
In 1962, when the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established, father of India's nuclear programme Homi Bhabha, along with Vikram Sarabhai, evaluated a number of sites in Kerala to establish a rocket station. Finally, they zeroed in on Thumba.
But there was a hitch. Fisherfolk of the village, emotionally attached to the place, particularly the St Mary Magadelene's Church had to be convinced to give up the place. The task fell on a former bishop of Thiruvananthapuram. During a Sunday congregation, he spoke to the villagers about the advantages of a space programme. He then asked if they had any objections if the village was handed over to the space department. The villagers paused only a while, and chorused, "Amen", indicating that they were ready to give up their village.
Space experts later commented that that it was an auspicious beginning for India's space missions. The project was initiated with the blessings of the villagers who were resettled. The small place of worship became the mainstay for the team of rocket scientists, including A P J Abdul Kalam. The first drawings of some of the earliest rockets were made in this church, now a space museum.
The conditions were anything but comfortable. Scientists travelled daily from Thiruvananthapuram in rickety buses, carrying lunch bought at the railway station.
Thumba was soon turned into the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station. The first sounding rocket, Nike Apache supplied by NASA, was launched in November 1963. After this, many sounding rockets, which study the atmosphere, lifted off from Thumba including those from the US, Russia, Japan, France and Germany.
Many rocket parts were carried by the scientists on bicycles from one place to another within Thumba. Even today, sounding rockets take off every week — only it is now a modern station.
Encouraged by the success of the sounding rocket programme, Sarabhai told his team that India had to develop its own satellite launch capability. For this, Sriharikota in AP was taken over by the space department from the Yanadi tribals. This too received the support and cooperation of the locals.
India hasn't quite gone cycling to the moon, but scientists and villagers will all remember the church where the space expedition began in right earnest.
India's space journey started from a village church-Thiru'puram-Cities-The Times of India
India's space journey started from a village church
22 Oct 2008, 0107 hrs IST, Srinivas Laxman, TNN
T’PURAM: Far from the research stations and labs, India's space programme began at a church in what was once a tiny fishing village called Thumba, not far from Thiruvanathanapuram airport in Kerala.
In 1962, when the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established, father of India's nuclear programme Homi Bhabha, along with Vikram Sarabhai, evaluated a number of sites in Kerala to establish a rocket station. Finally, they zeroed in on Thumba.
But there was a hitch. Fisherfolk of the village, emotionally attached to the place, particularly the St Mary Magadelene's Church had to be convinced to give up the place. The task fell on a former bishop of Thiruvananthapuram. During a Sunday congregation, he spoke to the villagers about the advantages of a space programme. He then asked if they had any objections if the village was handed over to the space department. The villagers paused only a while, and chorused, "Amen", indicating that they were ready to give up their village.
Space experts later commented that that it was an auspicious beginning for India's space missions. The project was initiated with the blessings of the villagers who were resettled. The small place of worship became the mainstay for the team of rocket scientists, including A P J Abdul Kalam. The first drawings of some of the earliest rockets were made in this church, now a space museum.
The conditions were anything but comfortable. Scientists travelled daily from Thiruvananthapuram in rickety buses, carrying lunch bought at the railway station.
Thumba was soon turned into the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station. The first sounding rocket, Nike Apache supplied by NASA, was launched in November 1963. After this, many sounding rockets, which study the atmosphere, lifted off from Thumba including those from the US, Russia, Japan, France and Germany.
Many rocket parts were carried by the scientists on bicycles from one place to another within Thumba. Even today, sounding rockets take off every week — only it is now a modern station.
Encouraged by the success of the sounding rocket programme, Sarabhai told his team that India had to develop its own satellite launch capability. For this, Sriharikota in AP was taken over by the space department from the Yanadi tribals. This too received the support and cooperation of the locals.
India hasn't quite gone cycling to the moon, but scientists and villagers will all remember the church where the space expedition began in right earnest.
jeypore
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India launches first moon rocket, tailing China
India is on its way to the moon, the country’s first unmanned mission there ahead of a planned 2012 rover landing.
The Chandrayaan 1 probe blasted off atop a PSLV-C11 rocket at 6:22 local time this morning from Satish Dhawan Space Center in the southern Andrha Pradesh Province. The $79-million mission reflects an emerging, competitive Asian presence in space at a time when the U.S. shuttle fleet is nearing retirement.
“It is a historic moment,” said G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, according to Bloomberg News. “Our journey to the moon has started.”
Chandrayaan 1, which means “moon craft 1,” will spend two years in lunar orbit, analyzing moon dust and looking for chemicals including helium 3, which is used in nuclear fusion, according to Reuters. It’s carrying 11 payloads, including a moon impact probe that will demonstrate the technology needed to land the rover.
The mission also could boost India’s competitiveness with China, which sent an unmanned rocket into lunar orbit last year and conducted its first spacewalk three weeks ago. Like India, China plans to land an unmanned rover on the moon in 2012 that will study soil and rock.
“China has gone earlier, but today we are trying to catch them, catch that gap, bridge the gap,” said Bhaskar Narayan, a director at the Indian space agency, according to Reuters.
The U.S. will retire its shuttle in 2010, and it will be at least 2015 before its new Orion spacecraft is ready for the cosmos. It plans to return astronauts to the moon by 2020—the same year the Chinese expect to arrive.
India launches first moon rocket, tailing China: Scientific American Blog
India is on its way to the moon, the country’s first unmanned mission there ahead of a planned 2012 rover landing.
The Chandrayaan 1 probe blasted off atop a PSLV-C11 rocket at 6:22 local time this morning from Satish Dhawan Space Center in the southern Andrha Pradesh Province. The $79-million mission reflects an emerging, competitive Asian presence in space at a time when the U.S. shuttle fleet is nearing retirement.
“It is a historic moment,” said G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, according to Bloomberg News. “Our journey to the moon has started.”
Chandrayaan 1, which means “moon craft 1,” will spend two years in lunar orbit, analyzing moon dust and looking for chemicals including helium 3, which is used in nuclear fusion, according to Reuters. It’s carrying 11 payloads, including a moon impact probe that will demonstrate the technology needed to land the rover.
The mission also could boost India’s competitiveness with China, which sent an unmanned rocket into lunar orbit last year and conducted its first spacewalk three weeks ago. Like India, China plans to land an unmanned rover on the moon in 2012 that will study soil and rock.
“China has gone earlier, but today we are trying to catch them, catch that gap, bridge the gap,” said Bhaskar Narayan, a director at the Indian space agency, according to Reuters.
The U.S. will retire its shuttle in 2010, and it will be at least 2015 before its new Orion spacecraft is ready for the cosmos. It plans to return astronauts to the moon by 2020—the same year the Chinese expect to arrive.
India launches first moon rocket, tailing China: Scientific American Blog
Firstly, I think it is silly for Indian moon project to be again "China centric".
Secondly, Indian Moon program, if successful, is already ahead of China in some aspects: a) it will blast the moon to get samples; b) reportedly it will drop an Indian national flag on Moon. This makes India the 4th country to do so. But I haven't found this on ISRo official website.
jeypore
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Vinod2070
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Hopefully, the two programs can keep the other stimulated to achieve more rather than become a pissing contest.
As of now China is ahead in the game though not by much. And all the best to both countries for success in their programs.
As of now China is ahead in the game though not by much. And all the best to both countries for success in their programs.
Black Stone
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It is expected, the Chinese would want to catch up with the US and the Indians would want to catch up with the Chinese.
That's the game.
This quote from the director says it all...
That's the game.
This quote from the director says it all...
nitesh
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The Hindu : Sci Tech : What Chandrayaan-1 aims to accomplish
Although India has earlier built multi-purpose INSATs which combined communication and meteorology payloads, Chandrayaan-1 is a novel clubbing together of remote-sensing and communication payloads. Chandrayaan-1’s orbit may be similar to the geo-synchronous transfer orbit of a communication satellite.
The complexities of the remote-sensing payloads in Chandrayaan-1 are also similar to those of the regular remote-sensing satellites. The comparison stops there.
For “all [the Indian] instruments on board Chandrayaan-1 have been made for the first time [in the country]. We had to develop prototypes and test them for high levels of endurance in the environment,” said T.K. Alex, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, which built the spacecraft.
For this spacecraft, every system and sub-system is critical. “We have made sure that their reliability is good. For every item, we had a redundant system. If an item or a sub-system did not work, we had a standby. We had two star-trackers. We had two gyroscopes, two transmitters, two receivers and so on,” he added.
Looking for water ice
Chandrayaan-1 carries on board 11 instruments — five from India and six from abroad.
These scientific payloads will help in preparing a three-dimensional atlas of the entire topographic surface of the moon, spot minerals such as thorium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium, and in confirming the reported presence of water ice in the moon’s polar regions.
The spacecraft’s communication sub-system transmits this precious information gathered by these 11 instruments to the earth in ‘X-band’ through its dual gimballed antenna, which has been made in India. M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, has been the dynamic driving force behind the integration of the 11 instruments in the spacecraft bus.
Mission wise, the journey of Chandrayaan-1 towards the moon is extremely complicated. “For the first time, we are sending a spacecraft beyond the earth’s orbit deep into space,” Dr. Alex said.
The manoeuvres
The moon is nearly four lakh km away from earth. The manoeuvres for propelling Chandrayaan-1 into the lunar orbit will be done in stages. The spacecraft will be initially put in low, elliptical orbit.
Its altitude will be increased precisely in stages. “Finding the direction in which the spacecraft is pointing is important. Finding the direction and position of the spacecraft in its orbit are the important challenges in accomplishing this mission,” he explained.
The direction of Chandrayaan-1 is found by using star-trackers and gyroscopes, both of which have been developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) laboratories.
The star-tracker images the sky and gets the direction in which the spacecraft is travelling from ten stars. The positions of the bright stars in the sky are kept in the memory of Chandrayaan-1’s computer by a technique called pattern-imaging.
The computer automatically identifies the star-cluster and establishes the direction in which the spacecraft is travelling. Chandrayaan-1’s position in orbit is found by a technique called “satellite tracking,” which is done by a chain of tracking stations spread all over the globe.
“The most important part is that Chandrayaan-1 should reach the moon at the precise time and required velocity when the moon is exactly at the desired place,” explained Dr. Alex.
Once the spacecraft reaches the moon’s vicinity, the former’s velocity is reduced by giving commands to it and it is put in an orbit of 100 km by 5,000 km around the moon. The altitude is reduced to a circular orbit of 100 km around the moon.
Later, the scientific instruments are switched on. The Moon Impact Probe, one of the 11 instruments, is ejected from Chandrayaan-1 and it hits the lunar surface.
To study moon’s origin
The five Indian payloads are Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) , Hyperspectral Imager (HySI), Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI),
High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX) and MIP. The TMC is a charged coupled device (CCD) camera which will take images of the near and far side of the moon which will enable preparation of the 3-D atlas of the entire lunar surface. This will help in understanding the origin and evolution of the moon.
The HySI, which is also a CCD camera, will provide mineralogical mapping of uranium and thorium deposits.
Lunar gravity
These images will help in identifying the mineralogical compositions in the moon’s deep crater region. The LLRI will provide the accurate height of moon’s hills and mountains, and depths of craters. This information will be useful in getting an improved model of lunar gravity.
HEX will enable exploration of the moon’s polar regions. The MIP, which will crash-land on the moon, is a forerunner to India landing rovers on the moon.
It has a video-camera, which will take pictures of the lunar surface every second of its 20-minute descent to the moon. Its altimeter will measure the MIP’s altitude from the moon every second of its descent.
Its mass spectrometer will analyse moon’s thin atmosphere. The high-resolution and low resolution optics in the cameras of the Indian instruments have been fabricated by the Laboratory for Electro-Optic Systems (LEOS), Bangalore.
Dr. Alex, who was the founder-director of LEOS, said: “We get raw, special glass, grind it and polish it into mirrors and lenses of very large sizes. We can fabricate at LEOS lenses and mirrors of half-a-metre to one metre diameter.”
Of the six instruments from abroad, three are from the European Space Agency (ESA), two from the U.S. and one from Bulgaria.
Looking for minerals
The three ESA payloads are Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS) which will measure the presence of magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium on the moon’s surface; Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyser (SARA) will study the moon’s surface composition, the way in which its surface reacts with solar wind and so on; Smart Near Infrared Spectrometer (SIR-2) will study the lunar surface to explore its mineral resources.
Bulgaria’s Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) will characterise the moon’s radiation environment. NASA’s Mini Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) will detect water ice in the moon’s permanently shadowed polar regions. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) also of NASA will map lunar minerals.
Although India has earlier built multi-purpose INSATs which combined communication and meteorology payloads, Chandrayaan-1 is a novel clubbing together of remote-sensing and communication payloads. Chandrayaan-1’s orbit may be similar to the geo-synchronous transfer orbit of a communication satellite.
The complexities of the remote-sensing payloads in Chandrayaan-1 are also similar to those of the regular remote-sensing satellites. The comparison stops there.
For “all [the Indian] instruments on board Chandrayaan-1 have been made for the first time [in the country]. We had to develop prototypes and test them for high levels of endurance in the environment,” said T.K. Alex, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, which built the spacecraft.
For this spacecraft, every system and sub-system is critical. “We have made sure that their reliability is good. For every item, we had a redundant system. If an item or a sub-system did not work, we had a standby. We had two star-trackers. We had two gyroscopes, two transmitters, two receivers and so on,” he added.
Looking for water ice
Chandrayaan-1 carries on board 11 instruments — five from India and six from abroad.
These scientific payloads will help in preparing a three-dimensional atlas of the entire topographic surface of the moon, spot minerals such as thorium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium, and in confirming the reported presence of water ice in the moon’s polar regions.
The spacecraft’s communication sub-system transmits this precious information gathered by these 11 instruments to the earth in ‘X-band’ through its dual gimballed antenna, which has been made in India. M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, has been the dynamic driving force behind the integration of the 11 instruments in the spacecraft bus.
Mission wise, the journey of Chandrayaan-1 towards the moon is extremely complicated. “For the first time, we are sending a spacecraft beyond the earth’s orbit deep into space,” Dr. Alex said.
The manoeuvres
The moon is nearly four lakh km away from earth. The manoeuvres for propelling Chandrayaan-1 into the lunar orbit will be done in stages. The spacecraft will be initially put in low, elliptical orbit.
Its altitude will be increased precisely in stages. “Finding the direction in which the spacecraft is pointing is important. Finding the direction and position of the spacecraft in its orbit are the important challenges in accomplishing this mission,” he explained.
The direction of Chandrayaan-1 is found by using star-trackers and gyroscopes, both of which have been developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) laboratories.
The star-tracker images the sky and gets the direction in which the spacecraft is travelling from ten stars. The positions of the bright stars in the sky are kept in the memory of Chandrayaan-1’s computer by a technique called pattern-imaging.
The computer automatically identifies the star-cluster and establishes the direction in which the spacecraft is travelling. Chandrayaan-1’s position in orbit is found by a technique called “satellite tracking,” which is done by a chain of tracking stations spread all over the globe.
“The most important part is that Chandrayaan-1 should reach the moon at the precise time and required velocity when the moon is exactly at the desired place,” explained Dr. Alex.
Once the spacecraft reaches the moon’s vicinity, the former’s velocity is reduced by giving commands to it and it is put in an orbit of 100 km by 5,000 km around the moon. The altitude is reduced to a circular orbit of 100 km around the moon.
Later, the scientific instruments are switched on. The Moon Impact Probe, one of the 11 instruments, is ejected from Chandrayaan-1 and it hits the lunar surface.
To study moon’s origin
The five Indian payloads are Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) , Hyperspectral Imager (HySI), Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI),
High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX) and MIP. The TMC is a charged coupled device (CCD) camera which will take images of the near and far side of the moon which will enable preparation of the 3-D atlas of the entire lunar surface. This will help in understanding the origin and evolution of the moon.
The HySI, which is also a CCD camera, will provide mineralogical mapping of uranium and thorium deposits.
Lunar gravity
These images will help in identifying the mineralogical compositions in the moon’s deep crater region. The LLRI will provide the accurate height of moon’s hills and mountains, and depths of craters. This information will be useful in getting an improved model of lunar gravity.
HEX will enable exploration of the moon’s polar regions. The MIP, which will crash-land on the moon, is a forerunner to India landing rovers on the moon.
It has a video-camera, which will take pictures of the lunar surface every second of its 20-minute descent to the moon. Its altimeter will measure the MIP’s altitude from the moon every second of its descent.
Its mass spectrometer will analyse moon’s thin atmosphere. The high-resolution and low resolution optics in the cameras of the Indian instruments have been fabricated by the Laboratory for Electro-Optic Systems (LEOS), Bangalore.
Dr. Alex, who was the founder-director of LEOS, said: “We get raw, special glass, grind it and polish it into mirrors and lenses of very large sizes. We can fabricate at LEOS lenses and mirrors of half-a-metre to one metre diameter.”
Of the six instruments from abroad, three are from the European Space Agency (ESA), two from the U.S. and one from Bulgaria.
Looking for minerals
The three ESA payloads are Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS) which will measure the presence of magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium on the moon’s surface; Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyser (SARA) will study the moon’s surface composition, the way in which its surface reacts with solar wind and so on; Smart Near Infrared Spectrometer (SIR-2) will study the lunar surface to explore its mineral resources.
Bulgaria’s Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) will characterise the moon’s radiation environment. NASA’s Mini Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) will detect water ice in the moon’s permanently shadowed polar regions. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) also of NASA will map lunar minerals.
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The Hindu : Sci Tech : What Chandrayaan-1 aims to accomplish
Although India has earlier built multi-purpose INSATs which combined communication and meteorology payloads, Chandrayaan-1 is a novel clubbing together of remote-sensing and communication payloads. Chandrayaan-1s orbit may be similar to the geo-synchronous transfer orbit of a communication satellite.
The complexities of the remote-sensing payloads in Chandrayaan-1 are also similar to those of the regular remote-sensing satellites. The comparison stops there.
For all [the Indian] instruments on board Chandrayaan-1 have been made for the first time [in the country]. We had to develop prototypes and test them for high levels of endurance in the environment, said T.K. Alex, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, which built the spacecraft.
For this spacecraft, every system and sub-system is critical. We have made sure that their reliability is good. For every item, we had a redundant system. If an item or a sub-system did not work, we had a standby. We had two star-trackers. We had two gyroscopes, two transmitters, two receivers and so on, he added.
Looking for water ice
Chandrayaan-1 carries on board 11 instruments five from India and six from abroad.
These scientific payloads will help in preparing a three-dimensional atlas of the entire topographic surface of the moon, spot minerals such as thorium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium, and in confirming the reported presence of water ice in the moons polar regions.
The spacecrafts communication sub-system transmits this precious information gathered by these 11 instruments to the earth in X-band through its dual gimballed antenna, which has been made in India. M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, has been the dynamic driving force behind the integration of the 11 instruments in the spacecraft bus.
Mission wise, the journey of Chandrayaan-1 towards the moon is extremely complicated. For the first time, we are sending a spacecraft beyond the earths orbit deep into space, Dr. Alex said.
The manoeuvres
The moon is nearly four lakh km away from earth. The manoeuvres for propelling Chandrayaan-1 into the lunar orbit will be done in stages. The spacecraft will be initially put in low, elliptical orbit.
Its altitude will be increased precisely in stages. Finding the direction in which the spacecraft is pointing is important. Finding the direction and position of the spacecraft in its orbit are the important challenges in accomplishing this mission, he explained.
The direction of Chandrayaan-1 is found by using star-trackers and gyroscopes, both of which have been developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) laboratories.
The star-tracker images the sky and gets the direction in which the spacecraft is travelling from ten stars. The positions of the bright stars in the sky are kept in the memory of Chandrayaan-1s computer by a technique called pattern-imaging.
The computer automatically identifies the star-cluster and establishes the direction in which the spacecraft is travelling. Chandrayaan-1s position in orbit is found by a technique called satellite tracking, which is done by a chain of tracking stations spread all over the globe.
The most important part is that Chandrayaan-1 should reach the moon at the precise time and required velocity when the moon is exactly at the desired place, explained Dr. Alex.
Once the spacecraft reaches the moons vicinity, the formers velocity is reduced by giving commands to it and it is put in an orbit of 100 km by 5,000 km around the moon. The altitude is reduced to a circular orbit of 100 km around the moon.
Later, the scientific instruments are switched on. The Moon Impact Probe, one of the 11 instruments, is ejected from Chandrayaan-1 and it hits the lunar surface.
To study moons origin
The five Indian payloads are Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) , Hyperspectral Imager (HySI), Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI),
High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX) and MIP. The TMC is a charged coupled device (CCD) camera which will take images of the near and far side of the moon which will enable preparation of the 3-D atlas of the entire lunar surface. This will help in understanding the origin and evolution of the moon.
The HySI, which is also a CCD camera, will provide mineralogical mapping of uranium and thorium deposits.
Lunar gravity
These images will help in identifying the mineralogical compositions in the moons deep crater region. The LLRI will provide the accurate height of moons hills and mountains, and depths of craters. This information will be useful in getting an improved model of lunar gravity.
HEX will enable exploration of the moons polar regions. The MIP, which will crash-land on the moon, is a forerunner to India landing rovers on the moon.
It has a video-camera, which will take pictures of the lunar surface every second of its 20-minute descent to the moon. Its altimeter will measure the MIPs altitude from the moon every second of its descent.
Its mass spectrometer will analyse moons thin atmosphere. The high-resolution and low resolution optics in the cameras of the Indian instruments have been fabricated by the Laboratory for Electro-Optic Systems (LEOS), Bangalore.
Dr. Alex, who was the founder-director of LEOS, said: We get raw, special glass, grind it and polish it into mirrors and lenses of very large sizes. We can fabricate at LEOS lenses and mirrors of half-a-metre to one metre diameter.
Of the six instruments from abroad, three are from the European Space Agency (ESA), two from the U.S. and one from Bulgaria.
Looking for minerals
The three ESA payloads are Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS) which will measure the presence of magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium on the moons surface; Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyser (SARA) will study the moons surface composition, the way in which its surface reacts with solar wind and so on; Smart Near Infrared Spectrometer (SIR-2) will study the lunar surface to explore its mineral resources.
Bulgarias Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) will characterise the moons radiation environment. NASAs Mini Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) will detect water ice in the moons permanently shadowed polar regions. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) also of NASA will map lunar minerals.
Although India has earlier built multi-purpose INSATs which combined communication and meteorology payloads, Chandrayaan-1 is a novel clubbing together of remote-sensing and communication payloads. Chandrayaan-1s orbit may be similar to the geo-synchronous transfer orbit of a communication satellite.
The complexities of the remote-sensing payloads in Chandrayaan-1 are also similar to those of the regular remote-sensing satellites. The comparison stops there.
For all [the Indian] instruments on board Chandrayaan-1 have been made for the first time [in the country]. We had to develop prototypes and test them for high levels of endurance in the environment, said T.K. Alex, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, which built the spacecraft.
For this spacecraft, every system and sub-system is critical. We have made sure that their reliability is good. For every item, we had a redundant system. If an item or a sub-system did not work, we had a standby. We had two star-trackers. We had two gyroscopes, two transmitters, two receivers and so on, he added.
Looking for water ice
Chandrayaan-1 carries on board 11 instruments five from India and six from abroad.
These scientific payloads will help in preparing a three-dimensional atlas of the entire topographic surface of the moon, spot minerals such as thorium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium, and in confirming the reported presence of water ice in the moons polar regions.
The spacecrafts communication sub-system transmits this precious information gathered by these 11 instruments to the earth in X-band through its dual gimballed antenna, which has been made in India. M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, has been the dynamic driving force behind the integration of the 11 instruments in the spacecraft bus.
Mission wise, the journey of Chandrayaan-1 towards the moon is extremely complicated. For the first time, we are sending a spacecraft beyond the earths orbit deep into space, Dr. Alex said.
The manoeuvres
The moon is nearly four lakh km away from earth. The manoeuvres for propelling Chandrayaan-1 into the lunar orbit will be done in stages. The spacecraft will be initially put in low, elliptical orbit.
Its altitude will be increased precisely in stages. Finding the direction in which the spacecraft is pointing is important. Finding the direction and position of the spacecraft in its orbit are the important challenges in accomplishing this mission, he explained.
The direction of Chandrayaan-1 is found by using star-trackers and gyroscopes, both of which have been developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) laboratories.
The star-tracker images the sky and gets the direction in which the spacecraft is travelling from ten stars. The positions of the bright stars in the sky are kept in the memory of Chandrayaan-1s computer by a technique called pattern-imaging.
The computer automatically identifies the star-cluster and establishes the direction in which the spacecraft is travelling. Chandrayaan-1s position in orbit is found by a technique called satellite tracking, which is done by a chain of tracking stations spread all over the globe.
The most important part is that Chandrayaan-1 should reach the moon at the precise time and required velocity when the moon is exactly at the desired place, explained Dr. Alex.
Once the spacecraft reaches the moons vicinity, the formers velocity is reduced by giving commands to it and it is put in an orbit of 100 km by 5,000 km around the moon. The altitude is reduced to a circular orbit of 100 km around the moon.
Later, the scientific instruments are switched on. The Moon Impact Probe, one of the 11 instruments, is ejected from Chandrayaan-1 and it hits the lunar surface.
To study moons origin
The five Indian payloads are Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) , Hyperspectral Imager (HySI), Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI),
High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX) and MIP. The TMC is a charged coupled device (CCD) camera which will take images of the near and far side of the moon which will enable preparation of the 3-D atlas of the entire lunar surface. This will help in understanding the origin and evolution of the moon.
The HySI, which is also a CCD camera, will provide mineralogical mapping of uranium and thorium deposits.
Lunar gravity
These images will help in identifying the mineralogical compositions in the moons deep crater region. The LLRI will provide the accurate height of moons hills and mountains, and depths of craters. This information will be useful in getting an improved model of lunar gravity.
HEX will enable exploration of the moons polar regions. The MIP, which will crash-land on the moon, is a forerunner to India landing rovers on the moon.
It has a video-camera, which will take pictures of the lunar surface every second of its 20-minute descent to the moon. Its altimeter will measure the MIPs altitude from the moon every second of its descent.
Its mass spectrometer will analyse moons thin atmosphere. The high-resolution and low resolution optics in the cameras of the Indian instruments have been fabricated by the Laboratory for Electro-Optic Systems (LEOS), Bangalore.
Dr. Alex, who was the founder-director of LEOS, said: We get raw, special glass, grind it and polish it into mirrors and lenses of very large sizes. We can fabricate at LEOS lenses and mirrors of half-a-metre to one metre diameter.
Of the six instruments from abroad, three are from the European Space Agency (ESA), two from the U.S. and one from Bulgaria.
Looking for minerals
The three ESA payloads are Chandrayaan-1 Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS) which will measure the presence of magnesium, aluminium, silicon, iron and titanium on the moons surface; Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyser (SARA) will study the moons surface composition, the way in which its surface reacts with solar wind and so on; Smart Near Infrared Spectrometer (SIR-2) will study the lunar surface to explore its mineral resources.
Bulgarias Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) will characterise the moons radiation environment. NASAs Mini Synthetic Aperture Radar (MiniSAR) will detect water ice in the moons permanently shadowed polar regions. The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) also of NASA will map lunar minerals.
nitesh
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The Hindu : National : An international mission with India as captain
An international mission with India as captain
T.S. Subramanian
CHENNAI: Although 60 spacecraft have been sent since 1959 to study the moon, this is the first time that as many as 11 scientific instruments are being carried on a spacecraft, Chandrayaan-1 — five from the Indian Space Research Organisation, two from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, three from the European Space Agency and one from Bulgaria.
M. Annadurai, Project Director, called the spacecraft “an international mission with India as the captain.” “We are carrying a spectrum of instruments that people have not sent to study the moon earlier.”
Addressing a press conference at Sriharikota on Wednesday after the PSLV-C11 successfully put Chandrayaan-1 into its initial orbit, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the scientific instruments on board were “unique for the spectrum of their coverage.” These were “the most comprehensive set of instruments to fly on board a spacecraft to the moon in recent history.” The instruments would provide a map of the entire surface of the moon — its hills, valleys and craters, and look for minerals such as thorium, uranium, silicon and magnesium.
“We will also try to see whether there is any trace of water ice on the moon,” Mr. Nair said.
The data sent by these instruments would also reveal whether helium-3, which would be the fuel of the future, was available in abundance on the moon.
“A search for the presence of water ice will be made in multiple ways by Chandrayaan-1,” said Mr. Annadurai. Imaging instruments on board the spacecraft could detect the presence of water ice. The signals observed by the X-ray payloads would be useful in identifying the presence of water ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon.
The Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument would send high-energy lasers to the lunar surface and these would bounce back to the spacecraft. The lasers would help in measuring the depth of the moon’s craters and the height of its mountains.
An important instrument was the Moon Impact Probe (MIP), on which was painted the Indian national flag. The MIP would be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 soon after the spacecraft reached its final orbit of 100 km around the moon on November 15, Mr. Annadurai said. After a 20-minute descent, it would crash-land on the moon.
The MIP has three instruments — a video camera that will take pictures of the lunar surface as the MIP descends towards the moon; a mass spectrometer that will “sniff” and analyse the constituents of the thin atmosphere present above the moon; and an altimeter that will measure every second the altitude of the MIP from the moon during its fall. When the MIP crashes on the moon, it will kick up dust. The video camera will take pictures of this dust. The video images of the lunar surface and the dust will help in determining where the lander/rover in the Chandrayaan-2 mission can land on the moon.
T.K. Alex, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, which built Chandrayaan-1, said: “The spacecraft is in right orbit. It is in good health. The outlook is excellent.”
George Koshy was the mission director and C. Venugopal, the vehicle director.
An international mission with India as captain
T.S. Subramanian
CHENNAI: Although 60 spacecraft have been sent since 1959 to study the moon, this is the first time that as many as 11 scientific instruments are being carried on a spacecraft, Chandrayaan-1 — five from the Indian Space Research Organisation, two from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, three from the European Space Agency and one from Bulgaria.
M. Annadurai, Project Director, called the spacecraft “an international mission with India as the captain.” “We are carrying a spectrum of instruments that people have not sent to study the moon earlier.”
Addressing a press conference at Sriharikota on Wednesday after the PSLV-C11 successfully put Chandrayaan-1 into its initial orbit, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the scientific instruments on board were “unique for the spectrum of their coverage.” These were “the most comprehensive set of instruments to fly on board a spacecraft to the moon in recent history.” The instruments would provide a map of the entire surface of the moon — its hills, valleys and craters, and look for minerals such as thorium, uranium, silicon and magnesium.
“We will also try to see whether there is any trace of water ice on the moon,” Mr. Nair said.
The data sent by these instruments would also reveal whether helium-3, which would be the fuel of the future, was available in abundance on the moon.
“A search for the presence of water ice will be made in multiple ways by Chandrayaan-1,” said Mr. Annadurai. Imaging instruments on board the spacecraft could detect the presence of water ice. The signals observed by the X-ray payloads would be useful in identifying the presence of water ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon.
The Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument would send high-energy lasers to the lunar surface and these would bounce back to the spacecraft. The lasers would help in measuring the depth of the moon’s craters and the height of its mountains.
An important instrument was the Moon Impact Probe (MIP), on which was painted the Indian national flag. The MIP would be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 soon after the spacecraft reached its final orbit of 100 km around the moon on November 15, Mr. Annadurai said. After a 20-minute descent, it would crash-land on the moon.
The MIP has three instruments — a video camera that will take pictures of the lunar surface as the MIP descends towards the moon; a mass spectrometer that will “sniff” and analyse the constituents of the thin atmosphere present above the moon; and an altimeter that will measure every second the altitude of the MIP from the moon during its fall. When the MIP crashes on the moon, it will kick up dust. The video camera will take pictures of this dust. The video images of the lunar surface and the dust will help in determining where the lander/rover in the Chandrayaan-2 mission can land on the moon.
T.K. Alex, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, which built Chandrayaan-1, said: “The spacecraft is in right orbit. It is in good health. The outlook is excellent.”
George Koshy was the mission director and C. Venugopal, the vehicle director.
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