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A comet heading towards Mars orbit in 2014
will not delay Isros Rs 450-crore Mars Orbiter
Mission, said K Radhakrishnan, chairman, Indian
Space Research Organization, of the countrys
premier space agency, on Wednesday. Indias Mars Orbiter is on schedule. The five
instruments are ready and will be integrated
soon.The spacecraft subsystems are in the
process of integration while the launch vehicle,
PSLV, is also getting ready. It will be integrated
from August on wards said Radhakrishnan, at the sidelines of a national conference on Space
Based Navigation held at Isro Satellite Centre on
Wednesday. Comet C/2013 A1, discovered on January 3 by
Rob McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory
in Australia, is approaching Mars at a speed of 2
lakh km/hour. Theres a probability of 1 in 8,000
chance that it might strike Mars. The Isro chief said it is yet to be studied how the
comet might affect their observations. The comet could bring some constituents, but
we dont expect any effect on the spacecraft. It
will pass 50,000 km away from Mars surface.
We will get more information on the comet in
future and scientists are looking at all
possibilities, he said. The Mars Orbiter, set to be launched on
November 27, will take about 300 days to reach
the planet, after leaving Earths orbit. Once the
satellite reaches Mars orbit around September
2014, which is an electrical orbit of 500 km
when it comes closest to mars, and 80,000 km at furthest, a number of experiments will be conducted by
Isro. Some of them are looking at Mars with a
thermal infrared imaging system, and also at the
possible presence and source of methane in the
Martian environment. The Mars Orbiter Mission will essentially to prove
the countrys capability to reach the Martian orbit
using its technology, he said. Five Payloads of Mars Orbiter MARS Colour Camera (MCC): Weighing 1.24 kg, it
will take pictures in red, green and blue colours.
It can capture a complete image of Mars in a
single shot from an altitude of 80,000km. The
camera will help understand the Martian dust
storms or dust devils. A Thermal Infrared Imaging System: A 4.1-kg
Thermal-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer will map
the surface and mineral composition of Mars.
Through this, scientists will know if there
is hydro thermal activity that will help locate
water. Lyman-alpha photometer: Among the other
things, it will measure atomic hydrogen in
Martian atmosphere. Martian Exospheric Composition Explorer: It will
study the neutral composition of the Martian
upper atmosphere. Methane Sensor for MARS: It will measure
methane in the Martian atmosphere with a high
level of accuracy.
Mars Orbiter on track, comet no deterrent: Isro chief | idrw.org
will not delay Isros Rs 450-crore Mars Orbiter
Mission, said K Radhakrishnan, chairman, Indian
Space Research Organization, of the countrys
premier space agency, on Wednesday. Indias Mars Orbiter is on schedule. The five
instruments are ready and will be integrated
soon.The spacecraft subsystems are in the
process of integration while the launch vehicle,
PSLV, is also getting ready. It will be integrated
from August on wards said Radhakrishnan, at the sidelines of a national conference on Space
Based Navigation held at Isro Satellite Centre on
Wednesday. Comet C/2013 A1, discovered on January 3 by
Rob McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory
in Australia, is approaching Mars at a speed of 2
lakh km/hour. Theres a probability of 1 in 8,000
chance that it might strike Mars. The Isro chief said it is yet to be studied how the
comet might affect their observations. The comet could bring some constituents, but
we dont expect any effect on the spacecraft. It
will pass 50,000 km away from Mars surface.
We will get more information on the comet in
future and scientists are looking at all
possibilities, he said. The Mars Orbiter, set to be launched on
November 27, will take about 300 days to reach
the planet, after leaving Earths orbit. Once the
satellite reaches Mars orbit around September
2014, which is an electrical orbit of 500 km
when it comes closest to mars, and 80,000 km at furthest, a number of experiments will be conducted by
Isro. Some of them are looking at Mars with a
thermal infrared imaging system, and also at the
possible presence and source of methane in the
Martian environment. The Mars Orbiter Mission will essentially to prove
the countrys capability to reach the Martian orbit
using its technology, he said. Five Payloads of Mars Orbiter MARS Colour Camera (MCC): Weighing 1.24 kg, it
will take pictures in red, green and blue colours.
It can capture a complete image of Mars in a
single shot from an altitude of 80,000km. The
camera will help understand the Martian dust
storms or dust devils. A Thermal Infrared Imaging System: A 4.1-kg
Thermal-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer will map
the surface and mineral composition of Mars.
Through this, scientists will know if there
is hydro thermal activity that will help locate
water. Lyman-alpha photometer: Among the other
things, it will measure atomic hydrogen in
Martian atmosphere. Martian Exospheric Composition Explorer: It will
study the neutral composition of the Martian
upper atmosphere. Methane Sensor for MARS: It will measure
methane in the Martian atmosphere with a high
level of accuracy.
Mars Orbiter on track, comet no deterrent: Isro chief | idrw.org
