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MUMBAI: The launch campaign for India's Rs 450-crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), slated for lift off between October and November, kicked off on Monday as Isro engineers began assembling the four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at Sriharikota.
The 44.4-metre tall brown-and-white PSLV is the advanced version of the rocket called PSLV-XL. The MOM flight is designated C-25, which will mark the silver jubilee of the highly-successful PSLV. Interestingly, the start of the campaign nearly coincides with the first anniversary of the nail-biting touchdown of Nasa's one-tonne, SUV-sized rover Curiosity on the Red Planet at 11am (IST) on August 6, 2012.
The officials told TOI that the integration of the five scientific instruments or payloads has almost been completed at the spacecraft checkout room at Isro's Satellite Centre in Bangalore. The instruments are the Methane Sensor For Mars, Mars Colour Camera, Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser, Lyman Alpha Photometer and Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer.
The 1,350 kg orbiter with the five payloads will now undergo various rigorous environmental tests before being moved to Sriharikota by September for integration with the rocket.
The main scientific objectives of the much-awaited mission include the exploration of Mars surface features from orbit, study of methane in the Martian atmosphere and study of the Martian upper atmosphere.
The 44.4-metre tall brown-and-white PSLV is the advanced version of the rocket called PSLV-XL. The MOM flight is designated C-25, which will mark the silver jubilee of the highly-successful PSLV. Interestingly, the start of the campaign nearly coincides with the first anniversary of the nail-biting touchdown of Nasa's one-tonne, SUV-sized rover Curiosity on the Red Planet at 11am (IST) on August 6, 2012.
The officials told TOI that the integration of the five scientific instruments or payloads has almost been completed at the spacecraft checkout room at Isro's Satellite Centre in Bangalore. The instruments are the Methane Sensor For Mars, Mars Colour Camera, Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser, Lyman Alpha Photometer and Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer.
The 1,350 kg orbiter with the five payloads will now undergo various rigorous environmental tests before being moved to Sriharikota by September for integration with the rocket.
The main scientific objectives of the much-awaited mission include the exploration of Mars surface features from orbit, study of methane in the Martian atmosphere and study of the Martian upper atmosphere.
