India's Mars Orbiter Mission World's First to Snap Far Side of Mars’ Moon Deimos

[Chanakya's_Chant]

MOM first to snap far side of Mars’ moon: ISRO chief​

Phobos along with the Mars' another natural satellite Deimos was discovered by mankind in 1877.​

PUNE: The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) A S Kiran Kumar revealed on Tuesday that the Mangalyaan, also known as Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), has become the first ever exploration mission to send back photographs of the far side of Deimos, one of the planet's two moons.

Addressing a public talk at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Kumar said, " Currently, there are seven exploration missions on Mars and in its orbit. Among them, only Mangalyaan has been successful in capturing, and sending back, photographs of the far side of Deimos, the smaller of the two moons of Mars. No other Mars mission has managed to do this."

Kumar also spoke in detail on the impending launch of the Astrosat, the nation's first-ever dedicated astronomy satellite.

A large number of institutes in India and overseas, including IUCAA, are collaborating on the mission. " Institutes like the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, IUCAA, University of Leicester, and Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, are working on the project and are designing payload," he informed.

The chairman shared some information about the kind of instruments that shall be a part of the Astrosat mission. " The UltraViolet Imaging Telescope, for which IUCAA has taken the lead, will be able to operate on three wavelengths. It shall better analyse the photosphere and chromosphere of the sun. In addition, we are deploying the LAXPC instrument, which will be used to study X-ray timings. The LAXPC has the largest effective area of its kind in the world," Kumar added.

The astronomy satellite is due to be launched next month. " A PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) will be used for the launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The satellite has already been sent to the launch centre from Bangalore and final tests and augmentations are underway," he explained.

Source:- MOM first to snap far side of Mars’ moon: Isro chief - The Times of India

With a budget of just $74 Million - Through Mangalyaan India became World's First Country to reach Mars in the First Attempt. India is also the First and Only Asian Country to Reach Mars till date.

 

[Pomegranate]

INDIAN MARS MISSION

 

[SrNair]

MOM not only finished their mission but also goes far beyond of our expectation
MOM is a pride of Asia.

@nair @kurup @levina @acetophenol @WAJsal @Gufi @Chinese-Dragon @Gibbs @Bangalore @SpArK @Chronos @SOHEIL @haman10 @yavar @2800 and others

 

[Levina]

Another feather in MOM's cap!
Afaik Deimos is the smallest moon in our solar system.

 

[Mo12]

India is doing Asia proud here!

 

[Fenrir]

Afaik Deimos is the smallest moon in our solar system.

No, Jupiter has a number of sub 2 km moons:

Table of Moons in Solar System: Discovery, Size and Orbital Period

I can't find any adequate pictures though, these are very small objects.

Saturn's Anthe is less than a single km. Deimos is small, but it isn't the smallest natural satellite orbiting any of our Solar System's planets

MOM first to snap far side of Mars’ moon: ISRO chief​

Phobos along with the Mars' another natural satellite Deimos was discovered by mankind in 1877. ​

​

Amazing work

!!!

 

[Levina]

No, Jupiter has a number of sub 2 km moons:

Table of Moons in Solar System: Discovery, Size and Orbital Period

Thanks!
Deimos has a radius of about 6kms. Isn't it?

 

[Fenrir]

Awesome job ISRO and MOM!!!

Here's the actual pics!

Mars Orbiter Mission images Mars' moons, including the far side of Deimos

ISRO

Mars Orbiter Mission captured these four images of Deimos about 12 seconds apart at 13:06 UT on October 14, 2014. The images have a resolution of about 300 meters per pixel; Deimos is roughly 13 kilometers wide.

ISRO / processed by Emily Lakdawalla

Like most solar system moons, Deimos always keeps the same hemisphere facing Mars. It's rare for spacecraft to view the hemisphere that faces away from Mars, but Mars Orbiter Mission's long, elliptical orbit permits it to do that. This image is a composite of four different exposures, stacked and enlarged 400%.

And a few of Phobos

ISRO

Mars orbiter Mission saw Phobos above Mars at 11:25 UT on October 14, 2014. Stickney crater is at the lower right. Resolution of the image is about 550 meters per pixel; Phobos is roughly 25 kilometers wide.

And one from NASA too:

Mars' Moon Deimos | NASA

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

These color-enhanced views of Deimos, the smaller of the two moons of Mars, were taken on Feb. 21, 2009, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Deimos is about 7.5 miles in diameter.

Deimos has a smooth surface due to a blanket of fragmental rock or regolith, except for the most recent impact craters. It is a dark, reddish object, very similar to Mars' other moon, Phobos.

These Deimos images combine HiRISE exposures in near-infrared, red and blue-green wavelengths. In the enhanced color, subtle color variations are visible - redder in the smoothest areas and less red near the fresh impact craters and over ridges of topographic highs. The color variations are probably caused by exposure of surface material to the space environment, which leads to darkening and reddening. Brighter and less-red surface materials have seen less exposure to space due to recent impacts or downslope movement of regolith.

 

[Armstrong]

Thanks!
Deimos is about 6kms in radius. Isn't it?

Oh please stop it....we all know that you thought that this was MARS the chocolate bar that was being talked about !

Come to think of it....MARS White Chocolate ain't that bad !

Send me some....now !

 

[Levina]

Oh please stop it....we all know that you thought that this was MARS the chocolate bar that was being talked about !

Talk for yourself.
I was talking about the 11kms wide moon of Mars.

 

[Fenrir]

Deimos has a radius of about 6kms. Isn't it?

That's right. Deimos has a mean radius of 6.2 km +/- .18! That's tiny.

It's full dimensions (excluding mass and surface area) are 15 × 12.2 × 11 km

Deimos, moon of Mars - The Solar System on Sea and Sky

Planetary Satellite Physical Parameters

...

The Westford Needles are likely (I'm not 100% on this) the smallest artificial satellite in our Solar System:

Project West Ford (also known as Westford Needles and Project Needles) was a test carried out by Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory on behalf of the United States Military in 1961 and 1963 to create an artificial ionosphere above the Earth. This was done to solve a major weakness that had been identified in US military communications.

The Forgotten Cold War Plan That Put a Ring of Copper Around the Earth | WIRED

Needle dispenser:

Westford Needles compared to a standard US postage stamp:

Oh please stop it....we all know that you thought that this was MARS the chocolate bar that was being talked about !

Come to think of it....MARS White Chocolate ain't that bad !

Send me some....now !

You like chocolate too huh? I'm not too partial to chocolates, off brands (anything not Hersey) aggravate my nut allergies, but talk of chocolate's going to make one Norwegian fox a tad crazy. You'd best share or hide it

 

[Armstrong]

You like chocolate too huh? I'm not too partial to chocolates, off brands (anything not Hersey) aggravate my nut allergies, but talk of chocolates going to make one Norwegian fox a tad crazy. You'd best share or hide it

I only like White Chocolates !

When it comes to White Chocolates - I share nothing !

 

[Fenrir]

I share nothing !

Seriously, she made me stop at a gas station, when we didn't need gas, just because she wanted a snack. I bought her a Twix and two Kit-kats.

 

[Armstrong]

Seriously, she made me stop at a gas station, when we didn't need gas, just because she wanted a snack. I bought her a Twix and two Kit-kats.

She sounds like shes a Butt !

Just so you know we - Butt - are known for being foodies of the highest order !

 

[anant_s]

@Armstrong