Chandrayaan-1
Chandrayaan-1 was
India's first unmanned lunar probe. It was launched by the Indian Space
Research Organisation in
October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar
orbiter and an impactor. India
launched the spacecraft by a modified version of the PSLV, PSLV C11 on 22
October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space
Centre, Sriharikota, Nellore
District, Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km north of Chennai, at 06:22 IST
(00:52 UTC). The mission was a major boost to India's space program, as
India researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the Moon.
The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.
On 14 November 2008, the Moon Impact
Probe separated from the Chandrayaan orbiter at 20:06 and struck the south pole
in a controlled manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag on
the Moon. The probe impacted near Shackleton Crater
at 20:31 ejecting underground soil that could be analysed for the
presence of water ice.
The estimated cost for the project was
Rs. 386 crore (US$ 80 million).The remote sensing lunar satellite had
a mass of 1,380 kilograms (3,042 lb) at launch and 675 kilograms
(1,488 lb) in lunar orbit. It carried high resolution remote sensing
equipment for visible, near infrared, and soft and hard X-ray frequencies.
Over a two-year period, it was intended
to survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical
characteristics and three-dimensional topography. The polar regions are of
special interest as they might contain ice. The lunar mission carries five ISRO
payloads and six payloads from other space agencies including NASA, ESA, and
the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency, which were carried free of cost.
After suffering from a bout
of minor failures, which included failure of the star sensors, Chandrayaan
stopped sending radio signals at 20:00 UTC on 28 August 2009 (29 August 2009,
1:30 AM IST). The ground control had lost contact with the spacecraft and the
mission was declared to be terminated. Chandrayaan operated for 312 days in
lunar orbit.
Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-2 is the second unmanned lunar exploration
mission proposed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at a
projected cost of Rs. 425 crore (US$ 90 million). The mission
includes a lunar orbiter as well as a Lander/Rover.
ISRO plans to land a motorized rover on
the Moon likely in 2012, as a part of its second Chandrayaan mission. The
wheeled rover will move on the lunar surface, to pick up soil or rock samples
for on site chemical analysis. The data will be sent to Earth through
Chandrayaan II, which will be in lunar orbit.
On 22 October 2008, after the launch of
Chandrayaan-1 it was announced that the probable launch of Chandrayaan II would
be the end of 2009 or early 2010. The launch vehicle would be the GSLV. The
team headed by Mylswamy
Annadurai that was behind the success of the first mission would work on
Chandrayaan-2.
ISRO announced that Chandrayaan-2 was
delayed once again to at least 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment