October 28 is set to be the next big day for the Indian space programme as the Mangalyaan (or Mars Orbiter) will lift-off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh that day using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or PSLV.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready for the launch of the Rs. 450-crore satellite, which weighs 1350 kg. It will take about 10 months to reach the orbit of Mars traversing a distance of over 400 million kilometres.
"The satellite is in the final stages of testing. We have also got thumbs up from the review committee," an elated ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan.
Mr Radhakrishnan says Mangalyaan will carry five Indian scientific instruments to study the atmosphere of the Red Planet, look for traces of Methane which could indicate if life exists on Mars, take colour photos of the planet and analyse the presence of water there.
In 2008, India successfully launched its maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1, which brought back the first clinching evidence of the presence of water on the lunar surface. Some even suggested that this is really now an Asian space race between India and China - the two regional rivals - on who reaches Mars first.
Other experts suggest that it is not so much the inter-planetary configuration but earth bound geo-political considerations that may be weighing on India's mind referring to the space rivalry between India and China. "We are not racing with anybody and the Indian Mars mission has its own relevance," says Mr Radhakrishnan. He, however, admits that there is an element of 'national pride' involved with the mission.
Some suggest after the success of Chandrayaan-1, the natural stepping stone for India was to try to reach Mars. Mr Radhakrishnan said, "We had to prepare the spacecraft on a fast-track mode as we had a deadline to meet. Though it is a complex spacecraft, but our people have done it." He also said that it is a critical mission for the country because after Chandrayaan-1 ISRO is looking to go deeper into the space, on a longer voyage.
MORE ABOUT MANGALYAN
The first leg and the slowest of its journeys by road from the cradle where it was born in India's satellite centre in Bangalore began at 6:00 AM on Wednesday. Its slow-paced convoy, closely guarded by commandos from the Central Industrial Research Force, reached the space port at Sriharikota at about 6.30 pm today, taking a tortuous 36 hours to slowly negotiating the traffic and circumventing anti-Telangana protests. It will be now hurled into space using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle using an unconventional trajectory.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says the satellite which will be placed in an elliptic orbit around Mars and will carry 15 kg of scientific instruments. According to ISRO, the objectives of the mission are to focus on remotely assessing "life, climate, geology, origin and evolution and sustainability of life on the planet".
"This is a technology demonstration project, a mission that will announce to the world India has the capability to reach as far away as Mars," K Radhakrishnan, ISRO's chairman said.
Since 1960, there have been 45 missions to Mars with just about a third of them being successful; attempts have been made by the former USSR and Russia, USA, Europe, Japan and China. The first Chinese mission to Mars called Yinghuo-1 failed in 2011 so some believe that India is trying to march ahead in what has been described as the twenty first century 'Asian Space Race'.
After the successful maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 the natural stepping stone for India was to try to reach Mars.
K. Radhakrishnan said: "This mars mission is a historical necessity, after having helped find water on the moon, looking for signatures of life on mars is a natural progression. India is now demonstrating its capability to undertake inter-planetary travel with end to end technological prowess in space".
No comments:
Post a Comment