Chandrayan-1 mission launched succesfully
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Vidyarthi Sir, Thanks.
I think the press reports are still incomplete in that there is no indication of impact of this launch delay on the planned rendezvous with American moon mission to collaboratively use their SAR in in Tx-RX mode for much higher resolution mapping.
Any insight?
I think the press reports are still incomplete in that there is no indication of impact of this launch delay on the planned rendezvous with American moon mission to collaboratively use their SAR in in Tx-RX mode for much higher resolution mapping.
Any insight?
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Tentative schedule is now Oct 19-28th, 2008.
linkyBANGALORE: Indian space scientists expect to map the lunar surface for the helium-3 (He-3) mineral to fuel nuclear power plants and frozen water as they make final preparations for India’s mission to the moon, expected to blast off next month.
Non-radioactive He-3 is scarce on earth but believed to be abundant on earth’s natural satellite and is seen as a promising fuel for advanced fusion reactors to generate power. The Chandrayaan-I mission is tentatively scheduled for launch between October 19 and 28.
The 575-kg spacecraft will be transported to the moon by a modified version of India’s main rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. “The mission will help us locate He-3, which has the potential to produce a large amount of energy. It is expected that in a few years we can transport it from the moon to run nuclear plants and generate electricity,” the director of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) satellite centre T K Alex said.
The satellite is in the final stages testing and it will be transported to the launch pad at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It will carry a total of 11 instruments, including six from India, two from the US and one each from Bulgaria, Germany and the UK. The satellite, which will orbit the moon from 100 km above, will jettison a ‘moon impact probe’ to slam into the lunar surface to help explore it from a close range.
“Probably 10 years from now fusion reactors which can use He-3 will be available. Our second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-II, will also have a lunar lander and help us collect samples of the mineral. The government has given clearance for Chandrayaan-II and we will start the mission as soon as Chandrayaan-I is completed,” Chandrayaan project chief Mylswamy Annadurai said. Programme director (satellite navigation)Surendra Pal said a couple of tonnes of He-3 would be enough to meet the energy needs of the world.
“In the next 40 years, it will be possible to transport it to the earth,” he said. Besides He-3, India’s first moon mission will also search for important minerals like titanium, uranium- 238 and possibility water. “Chandrayaan will look for large craters which have never been exposed to sun light. They are potential sites for frozen water, which is great subject of interest for humans,” the head of ISRO’s astronomy and instrumentation division Sree Kumar said.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
So India has plans to mine the moon“In the next 40 years, it will be possible to transport it to the earth,” he said. Besides He-3, India’s first moon mission will also search for important minerals like titanium, uranium- 238 and possibility water.
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Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Moon spacecraft clears ground tests
G.S. MUDUR
Diagram of Chandrayaan-1 with onboard instruments and sensors to scan the moon
New Delhi, Sept 17: India’s first moon-bound craft has survived a crucial set of ground tests in Bangalore, demonstrating that it will neither freeze nor roast when it encounters the hostile deep space environment.
For 21 days, the fully-assembled Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was placed in a large cylindrical vacuum chamber, the shape of a giant pressure cooker, where it was exposed to roast-and-freeze cycles, heated to 120 degrees celsius and cooled to minus 150 degrees celsius.
All onboard instruments and electronics remained intact in the tests that were designed to simulate deep space conditions, a senior scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, Bangalore, told The Telegraph.
Isro hopes to launch Chandrayaan-1 next month and guide it into an orbit 100km above the moon for a two-year mission that will include mapping the entire lunar surface in 3D, searching for minerals, and exploring lunar geology. India’s first lunar mission has cost about Rs 386 crore, of which Rs 100 crore has gone into a new antenna network to communicate with spacecraft on interplanetary missions.
The roast-and-freeze test is routinely subjected to all satellites, including Isro’s weather and communication satellites. Only the conditions of exposure sometimes vary. “Now, vibration tests remain. After that, Chandrayaan-1 will be sent to Sriharikota for launch,” an official said.
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle will ferry Chandrayaan-1 into space.
Chandrayaan-1 will carry five Indian-made cameras and instruments to study the moon from lunar orbit, while five other instruments designed by scientists in the US and Europe will piggyback on the Indian mission.
“We’re hoping to do research not done before,” said Martin Wieser, a scientist at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Kiruna, Sweden, who helped build an instrument called SARA — Sub Kev Atom Reflecting Analyser —, aboard Chandrayaan-1.
Isro scientists have also placed aboard the spacecraft a moon Impact Probe, a 29kg instrument about twice the size of a shoebox, that will be released to impact onto the moon’s surface after a 20-minute fall.
“The impact probe will test small thrust rockets that will be used to slow down the fall. We’ll require this for future soft landings on the moon,” a senior official at Isro said. Isro is planning to send an unmanned lunar lander in 2012.
Isro scientists have indicated that among the most challenging aspects of the lunar mission would be guiding the spacecraft from its initial orbit around Earth to the final lunar orbit through a series of firings of onboard rockets.
US and Russian scientists had mastered the art of sending spacecraft to the moon during the 1960s. “But this is something we’ve never done before,” a scientist at Isro said. “Our farthest satellites today are only in geostationary orbit about 36,000km above Earth. Talking to a spacecraft deep in space will be another challenge,” the scientist said.
Scientists plan to communicate with Chandrayaan-1 through a new Rs 100-crore Deep Space Network antenna that has been set up on the outskirts of Bangalore for future missions to the moon and even to other planets.
Isro scientists have tested the Deep Space Network by establishing links to Kaguya, an unmanned Japanese lunar orbiter launched last year.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Image courtesy Times of India
Chandrayaan-I, India's moon mission spacecraft at ISRO, Bangalore. (AFP)
![Image](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb.cms?photoid=3499734&width=460&resizemode=4)
Chandrayaan-I, India's moon mission spacecraft at ISRO, Bangalore. (AFP)
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Sceintists at ISRO work in the control room of the Thermo Vaccuum Control Test Chamber to test parameters on Chandrayaan-I spacecraft at ISRO in Bangalore. (AFP)
Image courtesy: Times of India.
![Image](http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/thumb.cms?photoid=3499740&width=460&resizemode=4)
Image courtesy: Times of India.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Chandrayaan 2008 Mission
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Animation by Thejes
Guru log, it brings tears of joy to just look at the Indian flag on the rover and crafts............. And it is just an animation. Oh......what it will be when we really do it. Mera Bharat Mahan. Jai Hind.
Guru log, it brings tears of joy to just look at the Indian flag on the rover and crafts............. And it is just an animation. Oh......what it will be when we really do it. Mera Bharat Mahan. Jai Hind.
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Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
While it is an achievement to look forward to, we must not forget that with unkil's days of domination numbered, we have to catch up with chicom's level of progress on every frontier including space. From now on what matters is not the absolute progress made by us but the relative progress.
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Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Anybody know where the music is sourced?
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
I hope BRfites are aware ofthis specific Chandrayan page in the ISRO website
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
X-Files.sanjaykumar wrote:Anybody know where the music is sourced?
Bunch of copycats ... Where is the originality?
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Really? I think we need to tone down some chest thumping here [and also not convert this thread into one]Arya Sumantra wrote:While it is an achievement to look forward to, we must not forget that with unkil's days of domination numbered,
Really?we have to catch up with chicom's level of progress on every frontier including space. From now on what matters is not the absolute progress made by us but the relative progress.
Can you cite which frontiers of space they are exactly ahead? And which frontiers they are exactly behind? Or they are not behind at all? Relative to India! I think we need to tone up some chest thumping here [and also congratulate ISRO appropriately when the mission succeeds.]
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Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
It is not chest thumping but a note of caution about the void that will be left by unkil once its economy forces it to withdraw from power balance posturing against chicoms. Domination depends on whether one's economy can AFFORD to fire their super-expensive weaponry. They borrowed $600 billion from their "main rival" for war in eerack not to mention that $ 3 trillion of the total $9-10 trillion debt is owned by their "main rival". Yindia has no choice but to grow its own feet to fit unkil's shoes coz their feet is shrinking and they will eventually discard their shoes.disha wrote:Arya Sumantra wrote:
While it is an achievement to look forward to, we must not forget that with unkil's days of domination numbered,
Really? I think we need to tone down some chest thumping here [and also not convert this thread into one]
Maximum weight they can carry into space, Manned space flight, Use their own rocket motors for their launch vehiclesdisha wrote:Can you cite which frontiers of space they are exactly ahead?
I do congratulate ISRO and their achievements are nothing short of exemplary for the limited resources they are provided. But their woes are because they are under-funded in salary terms. The babus don't know how to differentiate Scientific Research(Large individual dependence of Output) from regular clerical work(relatively fixed output) and club them together in the form of pay-comissions leading to loss of human resource to private sector or alternate disciplines.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
That website gets updated aadi ammavasaikku orru daram.SSridhar wrote:I hope BRfites are aware ofthis specific Chandrayan page in the ISRO website
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Swamy sir, only tamilians could understand that lineSwamyG wrote:That website gets updated aadi ammavasaikku orru daram.SSridhar wrote:I hope BRfites are aware ofthis specific Chandrayan page in the ISRO website
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Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
It just means that the website does not get updated often.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
just off the topic here, but how much an average scientist in ISRO earns? earning should be an amalgamation of monthly wages, pension, other benefits including health, social e.g. education for their children, government accomodation and other like club memberships etc etc. So counting everything together where they stand?Arya Sumantra wrote: I do congratulate ISRO and their achievements are nothing short of exemplary for the limited resources they are provided. But their woes are because they are under-funded in salary terms. The babus don't know how to differentiate Scientific Research(Large individual dependence of Output) from regular clerical work(relatively fixed output) and club them together in the form of pay-comissions leading to loss of human resource to private sector or alternate disciplines.
P.S. : I am not at all against making their salaries in par with the industry. Just trying to gather info.
thanks.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
India to Reach for the Moon Next Month
Rahul Srinivas, Sep 22, 2008 1805 hrs IST
Chandrayaan is all set to make history; taking India to the moon
E-Mail Print
If everything goes as planned, any of the days starting October 19th to 28th would be remembered as a red-letter day for us Indians. Our very first, homespun lunar probe, Chandrayaan is all set to make its first voyage to our nearest celestial body -- the Moon on these tentative dates -- depending on the weather conditions then. If the weather plays spoil sport, the mission will need to be postponed to December. In any case, a successful mission will no doubt put India in the elite club of counties who have been able to send missions to moon.
Chandrayaan is still undergoing tests and is yet to clear the vibration and acoustic tests, which it would be subjected to later this week. These tests will simulate the conditions that the probe will need to bear at the tine of launch. These include high-temperatures, vibrations during take off and not to mention, the tremendous noise that is expected of a typical rocket launch.
Chandrayaan will carry as many as 11 payloads -- five from India, three from the European Space Agency (ESA), one from the Bulgarian Space Agency (BSA) and two from NASA, making it a truly global initiative. The two-year mission will be invaluable as the Chandrayaan is programmed to orbit the Lunar surface and digitally map it. It will also send information on the traces of the composition of the lunar surface apart from looking for atomic minerals such as thorium and uranium. The probe is also equipped with high-resolution cameras which could help shed some light on the existence of water on the moon.
A modified (rather upgraded) PSLV launch vehicle will be used to transport the probe to the lunar orbit. Due to the modifications, the PSLV C-11 will have a lift-off weight of 316 tonnes, which is much higher than the "standard" 294-ton version. Additionally, the payload capacity too has been increased from 1600 kg to 1800 kg. The PSLV has been the most successful launch vehicle for ISRO till date. It also holds the record for sending as many as 10 satellites simultaneously during its last mission. This time round, it is all set to break its own record by carrying 11 different payloads.
Undoubtedly, the Indian space program has come a long way since its initial stages when the first rocket transporter happened to be a bicycle, which carried the 9 kilo rocket to the "launch pad"! That was back in 1963 when visionaries like Vikram Sarabhai and APJ Abdul Kalam laid the foundation of what has become one of the greatest success stories of India.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Can you cite which frontiers of space they are exactly ahead?
If the above is true, then all the stuff outside Indian boundary. Of course we can go around the world in couple of days at present. But to go out of earth's atmosphere is tricky. I think how you get there or how fast you get there will decide the frontiers we explore. People want to go to Mars, because it takes like couple of years to go and come back we are reluctant to do the same.A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary, or of a different nature.
So my point, not the frontier(it can be anything), but how we get there has to be changed. I think we have to look for more faster ways to travel than just chemical rockets.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Moon Mission In Dec If ISRO Misses October Date
Satish Dhawan spaceport at Sriharikota.
New Delhi, India (PTI) Sep 22, 2008
India's maiden moon mission could begin its space odyssey in December if it misses its earliest launch window of October 19-26, former ISRO chief Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan has said.
The cyclone season in the Bay of Bengal extends all through November which rules out the possibility of space launches, he said.
Chandrayaan-I, which is being assembled at the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore, will be launched from the Satish Dhawan spaceport at Sriharikota on the eastern coast.
The spacecraft, which will orbit the moon at a distance of 100 km, was unveiled in Bangalore last week. It is yet to undergo vibration and acoustic tests.
For the vibration test, the spacecraft integrated with all its components would be put through a simulated environment similar to the vibrations emitted while being launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
The acoustic test would simulate sound equivalent to 10 jet engines to ensure integrity of systems and to ensure that noise does not create any disturbance or affect the functioning of any component.
"The mission is progressing as per the strict timeline," said Kasturirangan, who got the mission going when he was at the helm of affairs at the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Chandrayaan is devoted to high resolution remote sensing of lunar surface features and is expected to have an operational life of two years.
The indigenously made spacecraft would carry 11 payloads, six from international organisations like NASA and ESA, and five from India.
The main objectives of the mission are to carry out high resolution mapping of the lunar topography in 3D, distribution of various minerals and elemental chemical species including radioactive nucleides covering the lunar surface using a set of remote sensing instruments.
The new set of data would help in unravelling mysteries about the origin and evolution of solar system in general and that of moon in particular.
The areas of study of the spacecraft include high resolution mineralogical and chemical imaging of permanently shadowed north and south polar regions.
It would also search for surface, sub-surface water-ice on the moon, specially at lunar poles.
Chandrayaan-I is expected to be shipped to Sriharikota by end of the month, where it will undergo further tests before the launch.
Source: Press Trust of India
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Word is around that the date is going to be either 22nd or 23rd October.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
SIR-2 Optics Unit
![Image](http://www.esa.int/images/SIR2_MLI_fit1_S.jpg)
SIR-2 will survey the Moon’s geological composition and the effect of space weathering on its surface. Data from the instrument will be used to study the formation of the structures that exist on the Moon. SIR-2 is led by the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System science. SIR-2, a near-infrared spectrometer was delivered in the first week of November last year. SARA, Sub-kilo electron volt Atom Reflecting Analyser, was delivered on 8 April 2008. Europe’s contribution is now complete as the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS), the third instrument, was tested and integrated with the spacecraft on 22 August.
Source and all credits
![Image](http://www.esa.int/images/SIR2_MLI_fit1_S.jpg)
SIR-2 will survey the Moon’s geological composition and the effect of space weathering on its surface. Data from the instrument will be used to study the formation of the structures that exist on the Moon. SIR-2 is led by the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System science. SIR-2, a near-infrared spectrometer was delivered in the first week of November last year. SARA, Sub-kilo electron volt Atom Reflecting Analyser, was delivered on 8 April 2008. Europe’s contribution is now complete as the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS), the third instrument, was tested and integrated with the spacecraft on 22 August.
Source and all credits
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
![Image](http://www.esa.int/images/08EC1132_Vibration_testing_C1XS_S.jpg)
C1XS -Image Source
SourceA sophisticated X-ray camera made by scientists and engineers from the UK s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is set to launch into space on October 22nd aboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft India s first mission to the Moon. This is the first time the UK and India have collaborated in space science and the two countries space agencies will be attending the 59th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) next week (29 September - 3 October), along with space agencies from all over the globe. A replica of the camera will be on display at the IAC.
The camera - C1XS was designed and built at STFC Space Science and Technology Department in the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. It is an X-Ray Spectrometer that will measure X-rays to map the surface composition of the Moon which will help scientists to understand its origin and evolution, as well as quantifying the mineral resources that exist there.
Chandrayaan-1 is the first lunar mission from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is designed to orbit the Moon and carries radar and particle detectors as well as instruments that will make observations in the visible, near infrared and X-ray part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Dr Ian Crawford from Birkbeck College, who chairs the C1XS Science Team, said, There is still a lot we don t know about the Moon. Accurate maps of the surface composition will help us unravel its internal structure and geological history. Among other things this will help us better understand the origin of the Earth-Moon system. We will also be able to learn more about what happened on the Moon since it formed and how and when it cooled. By peering into its craters, we may even be able to see below its crust to the material underneath.
C1XS was developed in conjunction with the Indian Space Research Organisation. It employs new technology to make a compact, lightweight, sensitive instrument that can measure the abundances of chemical elements in the lunar surface, by detecting the X-rays they absorb and re-emit. The spectrometer builds on a successful technology demonstration called D-CIXS, which was launched aboard the European Space Agency s (ESA) Smart-1 mission to the Moon.
Prof Manuel Grande, C1XS Principal Investigator, Aberystwyth University, said, In the UK we are rapidly becoming the world’s leading maker of planetary X-ray instruments. C1XS will cement this position, and paves the way for UK leadership of similar instruments at Mercury and elsewhere in the Solar System.
C1XS will work by looking at X-rays from the Sun which have been absorbed by atoms in the lunar soil, then re-emitted in such a way as to reveal the chemistry of the surface. The spectrometer is sensitive to magnesium, aluminium and silicon X-rays. When the solar X-ray illumination is bright, for example during a solar flare, it may also be able to make measurements of other elements such as iron, titanium and calcium. To make accurate measurements of the surface elements it is essential to measure the X-rays being produced by the Sun. C1XS has an additional detector system to measure these X-rays called the X-ray Solar Monitor (XSM) which is provided by the University of Helsinki Observatory, Finland.
C1XS uses an advanced version of conventional CCD sensors such as you might find in a digital camera, called swept charge devices. These are mounted behind a gold/copper collimator , which limits the field of view of the X-ray detectors to a narrow beam. Together these two innovations form an X-ray camera that has high resolution allowing identification of the surface elements, yet is far more compact and lower mass than other spacecraft s X-ray spectrometers. said Chris Howe, C1XS Chief Engineer, from STFC Space Science and Technology Department.
Dr Ian Crawford concluded, There is currently a renaissance in lunar exploration, with many international lunar missions either underway or planned for the next few years, leading up to the planned return of astronauts to the lunar surface by 2020. Through its involvement in C1XS, the UK is playing an important role in this international activity.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
To be launched on Oct. 22: ISRO
The sources said weather conditions permitting the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11) carrying the Chandrayaan-1 satellite will blast off at 6.20 AM, the sources said
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Oct 22nd. Sweet.... but I will be vacationing and will miss live commentary and jubilation. Good luck!
Meanwhile here is a write-up on M.Annadurai: Project Director of Chandrayaan 1
Meanwhile here is a write-up on M.Annadurai: Project Director of Chandrayaan 1
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Here it starts...
Europe is not getting a free ride, but supports (with a big S
) the lunar mission. BeeBeeC and their rope tricks... oh boy!!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7656396.stm
Europe is not getting a free ride, but supports (with a big S
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7656396.stm
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
I'm delighted. I will be in India for a couple of weeks just around that time.
Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the lovely British Broadcasting Comedy.
Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the lovely British Broadcasting Comedy.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
![Image](http://www.deccanherald.com/UserFiles/DHGallery/Oct82008/update-gallery.jpg)
PSLV C-11, the Chandrayaan-1 launch vehicle getting set at Sriharikota on Tuesday. India's maiden lunar mission, Chandrayana-1, is likely to take off on October 22. DH photo/Kishor Kumar Bola. image from Deccan Herald.
I know big inline images are not allowed, request to moderators to make this one exception.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
x-posted...
andharbans wrote:This statement wrt the Indian mission to moon i am finding in a lot of sites. To the casual reader in other nations who will be surprised to know that India has the capability for a moon mission, this sort of confirms existing prejudices in a subtle way. Looks as if the major chunk of work has been done by these 6 countries..Six countries, including the United States, are directly involved in the project, which will cost an estimated $80.8m.
Just curious though how directly is the US and the other 5 countries really involved. I know they are helping track the module on the other side of the Earth and some of their instruments are getting a free ride..but what else?
http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology ... 41,00.html
Rye wrote:This is so that they can claim that the Indian Moon Mission could not have happened without help from these other nations -- there needs to be an official report from the ISRO on the level of contributions of these other nations so that they do not deprive our scientists of the credit that is due to them. They need to release a detailed report to the press on the mission and those involved well before the flight, so that external entities do not play psyops to diminish India's achievement.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
quote="harbans"]
This is so that they can claim that the Indian Moon Mission could not have happened without help from these other nations --
This is indeed the psy op in play here. Check this out..on BBC
But from what i gather..
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080918/j ... 851394.jsp
Same article also states that India has already designed and tested a deep space tracker. So now the US and ESA by piggy backing on Indian modules have given a huge boost to the mission. If i'm not mistaken ISRO is still under sanctions..correct me if i am wrong.[/quote]
This is so that they can claim that the Indian Moon Mission could not have happened without help from these other nations --
This is indeed the psy op in play here. Check this out..on BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7656396.stmThe project will cost $83m and has the direct involvement of six other countries, including the US and Europe.
Over the next two years, it will survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and its three-dimensional topography.
The European Space Agency (Esa) is supporting the mission, supplying three instruments
But from what i gather..
Chandrayaan-1 will carry five Indian-made cameras and instruments to study the moon from lunar orbit, while five other instruments designed by scientists in the US and Europe will piggyback on the Indian mission.
“We’re hoping to do research not done before,” said Martin Wieser, a scientist at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Kiruna, Sweden, who helped build an instrument called SARA — Sub Kev Atom Reflecting Analyser —, aboard Chandrayaan-1.
Isro scientists have also placed aboard the spacecraft a moon Impact Probe, a 29kg instrument about twice the size of a shoebox, that will be released to impact onto the moon’s surface after a 20-minute fall.
“The impact probe will test small thrust rockets that will be used to slow down the fall. We’ll require this for future soft landings on the moon,” a senior official at Isro said. Isro is planning to send an unmanned lunar lander in 2012.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080918/j ... 851394.jsp
Same article also states that India has already designed and tested a deep space tracker. So now the US and ESA by piggy backing on Indian modules have given a huge boost to the mission. If i'm not mistaken ISRO is still under sanctions..correct me if i am wrong.[/quote]
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Chandrayaan-I gets ready for launch - T.S.Subramanian in The Hindu
Excerpts
Excerpts
If all goes well, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, to be launched by the Polar Satellite Vehicle (PSLV-C11) on October 22 at 6.20 a.m. from the Sriharikota space port, will reach the lunar orbit on November 8, according to M.Y.S. Prasad, Associate Director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
“All checks on the vehicle are completed. The vehicle is now ready to receive the satellite,” declared T. Subba Reddy, Manager, Second Launch Pad, when journalists visited the complex.
A few kilometres away, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which weighs 1,380 kg, is undergoing a battery of tests to test its flight-worthiness.
The spacecraft will be moved to the VAB on October 14 and married up with the PSLV-11. The “marriage ceremonies” such as filling Chandrayaan-1 with propellants and gas, and cobbling of the heat-shield which protects the spacecraft through searing heat when the rocket climbs through the atmosphere, will be performed over the next four days. On October 18 will begin the extremely slow journey of the rocket with the spacecraft, as if it were a temple chariot with the deity, from the VAB to the launch pad
However, V. Krishnamurthy, the Range Safety Officer for the mission, is a confident man. “Rains do not matter. The launch vehicle is rain-proof. It can get drenched and we can still launch,” he asserted.
The PSLV had lifted off earlier when it was pouring over the island. Only a cyclone would pose a problem to the launch on time. Since this was the time when the north-east monsoon set in, Mr. Krishnamurthy said ISRO had formed a team of weather specialists who would be in Sriharikota six days before the launch.
Depending on their inputs, ISRO would take a decision on when to ignite the rocket.
Chandrayaan-1 will carry 730 kg of propellants. About 600 kg of these propellants will be used to put the spacecraft into lunar orbit at an altitude of 100 km. The spacecraft will have a mission-life of two years and use up 70 kg of propellants during this period, Mr. Prasad said
Mr. Prasad said, “We will be able to confirm whether there is water on the surface of the moon near the Poles with the help of the Chandrayaan mission.” Water on the moon was first identified by a NASA mission called Clementine. Based on that, NASA concluded that there could be a possibility of water in the moon’s South Pole, he added.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
No Insurance cover
Bangalore, Oct 11, 2008: India’s first moon voyage is set to be launched October 22. But Chandrayaan-1 has got no insurance cover. This may be amazing to most people but this is the reality.
This may be due to the confidence of Indian scientists who know that this will be a sure success and due to this reason they don’t want to spend a single penny on getting insurance cover for the historic and momentous Chandrayaan-1.
By the way it is like general practice. Indians, generally middle class Indians are not known to be attracted to insurance. They want to avoid the cost of getting insurance cover. May be it is due to the fact that they simply don’t have the means to get insurance covers for them and their kids.
It is not the case that Chandrayaan has not cost the country and ISRO anything. The nation has spent around Indian rupees 3860 million on the project during the last five years. In my view it is the general national attitude towards insurance that ISRO has not gone for an insurance cover for an important product.
The ISRO officials have said that the project in not covered under any insurance as Chandrayaan-1 is a scientific project and that it would not require any insurance cover. “We have not taken any cover for this project,” S Satish, spokesperson of ISRO said.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Does India's moon mission means that India has the capability to produce ICBMs???
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Please read the Agni page under missile section by Arun_S.
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Not at at all if it comes in one Z two Z.K Mehta wrote: PSLV C-11, the Chandrayaan-1 launch vehicle getting set at Sriharikota on Tuesday. India's maiden lunar mission, Chandrayana-1, is likely to take off on October 22. DH photo/Kishor Kumar Bola. image from Deccan Herald.
I know big inline images are not allowed, request to moderators to make this one exception.
BTW isn't the 12 tonne PSOM-XL a beauty?
Re: Chandrayan-1 mission discussion
Why are the PSOM-XL numbered like this. From what is visible 1 , 5 and 3 are stacked adjacent to each other. Any specific reason for this?