MOM:
Marking India's first venture into the interplanetary
space, MOM will explore and observe Mars
The enormous distances involved in interplanetary missions present a demanding challenge; developing and mastering the technologies essential for these missions will open endless possibilities for space exploration. After leaving Earth, the Orbiter will have to endure the Interplanetary space for 300 days before Mars capture. Apart from deep space communications and navigation-guidance-control capabilities, the mission will require autonomy at the spacecraft end to handle contingencies.
Once India decided to go to Mars, ISRO had no time to lose as the nearest launch window was only a few months away and it could not afford to lose the chance, given the next launch would present itself after over 780 days, in 2016. Thus, mission planning, manufacturing the spacecraft and the launch vehicle and readying the support systems took place swiftly.
ABOUT MOM :
The primary objective of the mission is to develop the technologies required for designing, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission. The secondary objective is to explore Mars' surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere using indigenous scientific instruments.
The main objectives are to develop the technologies required for designing, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission comprising the following major tasks
1) Orbit manoeuvres to transfer the spacecraft from Earth-centred orbit to heliocentric trajectory and finally, capture into Martian orbit.
2) Development of force models and algorithms for orbit and attitude (orientation) computations and analysis
Navigation in all phases.
3) Maintain the spacecraft in all phases of the mission.
4) Meeting power, communications, thermal and payload operation requirements.
5) Incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.
The scientific objectives deal with the following major aspects:
* Exploration of Mars surface features by studying the morphology, topography and mineralogy.
* Study the constituents of Martian atmosphere including methane and CO2 using remote sensing techniques.
* Study the dynamics of the upper atmosphere of Mars, effects of solar wind and radiation and the escape of volatiles to outer space.
On 23 November 2008, the first public acknowledgement of an unmanned mission to Mars was announced by then-ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair. The MOM mission concept began with a feasibility study in 2010 by the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology after the launch of lunar satellite Chandrayaan-1 in 2008. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved the project on 3 August 2012, after the Indian Space Research Organisation completed ₹125 crore of required studies for the orbiter. The total project cost may be up to ₹454 crore . The satellite costs ₹153 crore and the rest of the budget has been attributed to ground stations and relay upgrades that will be used for other ISRO projects.
The space agency had planned the launch on 28 October 2013 but was postponed to 5 November following the delay in ISRO's spacecraft tracking ships to take up pre-determined positions due to poor weather in the Pacific Ocean. Launch opportunities for a fuel-saving Hohmann transfer orbit occur every 26 months, in this case the next two would be in 2016 and 2018. One of the working group's objectives will be to explore potential coordinated observations and science analysis between the MAVEN orbiter and MOM, as well as other current and future Mars missions.
The Peoples Involved in Mars Mission :
1) Ritu Karidhal
2) Nandini Harinath
3) Anuradha TK
4) K. Radhakrishnan
5) Mylswamy Annadurai
6) A. S. Kiran Kumar
7) S. K. Shivakumar
8) Madhavan Chandradathan
9) Minal Rohit
10) Moumita Datta
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