Day set for India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) ‘Mangalyan’

As per the announcement by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India’s first mission to Mars -Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will be launched on November 5, 2013 from Sriharikota space station.

About India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) ‘Mangalyan’:

• The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has been named ‘Mangalyan‘
• To be launched onboard PSLV C25 on November 5, 2013 at 14:36 hours from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.
• India’s first interplanetary mission to planet Mars with an orbiter craft designed to orbit Mars in an elliptical orbit.
• It will reach Martian transfer trajectory in September 2014. Subsequently, it is planned to enter into a 372 km by 80000 km elliptical orbit around Mars.

Objectives of India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) ‘Mangalyan’:

• The main objectives of the Mars mission are to showcase India’s technological prowess to send a satellite to orbit around Mars and conduct important experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of the red planet and study Martian environment.
• To develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission.
• Design and realisation of a Mars orbiter with a capability to survive and perform Earth bound manoeuvres, cruise phase of 300 days, Mars orbit insertion or capture.
• Deep space communication, navigation, mission planning and management.
• Incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.
• Exploration of Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere by indigenous scientific instruments.

Key Payloads on PSLV C25:

• Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP)
• Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM)
• Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA)
• Mars Colour Camera (MCC)
• Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometre (TIS)