Way to Mars

 

Mars Orbiter Mission Making Its Way to Mars

India pulled off an engineering triumph when its scientists successfully placed the Mangalyaan in the Mars' orbit, propelling the country into a select club of interplanetary exploring nations in the shortest time and at the lowest cost.

 

It was a moment of glory.

 

It was the coming of age of India's technological prowess.

 

It was an achievement of astronomical proportions!

 

Scientists called it Mars Orbit Insertion.

 

It was the most challenging milestone of India's first interplanetary mission-Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) attempting to orbit a spacecraft around this tiny red dot in the sky on 24th September, 2014. With 24 minutes of firing of the Liquid engine, ISRO'S Mars Orbiter Mission took India into a Martian orbit

 

Yes, India has done it.

 

So far only the USA, USSR/Russia and the European Space agency have had the distinction of orbiting a spacecraft around Mars. India has not just joined this elite club but also opened up a new one by being the first country in the world to do so in the very first attempt. India has also become the first Asian country to Orbit Mars.

 

The spacecraft takes 72 hours and 42 minutes to complete one orbit around Mars. This orbit has a Periapsis (nearest point in the orbit) of 428.8 km and an Apoapsis (farthest point in the orbit) of 76,876.7 km and an inclination of 149.22° 

 

300 Days to Mars – A Dream That Inspired:

 

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C25) in its 25th flight, lifted off from Sriharikota soaring into a bright afternoon sky with ISRO's Mars Orbiter spacecraft on 5th November, 2013 at 2:38 PM. This was followed by six Earth Bound Manoeuvres which gradually raised the velocity of the spacecraft and it attained the escape velocity of 11.2 km/s during a slingshot of sorts-called Trans Mars Injection (TMI) on 1st December, 2013.

 

Thus began a 300-day journey (illustrated below) covering nearly 680 million kms leading all the way to Mars. Three Trajectory Correction Manoeuvres (TCMS) were carried out enroute to fine tune the trajectory and a picture perfect rendezvous raced our hearts to happiness when MOM was successfully injected into a Martian orbit. The successful test-firing of the main liquid engine, carried out as part of the last TCM, a couple of days before the Mars Orbit Insertion gave us immense confidence in the last lap of the heliocentric journey to Mars.

 

MOM has mesmerized millions, Glued to their TV sets and Internet terminals and other media, millions of Individuals-young and old were part of this journey and followed the mission updates with bated breath. The memories of MOM are firmly etched in the young minds of our country. India's first interplanetary mission will certainly continue to inspire generations of Indians for decades to come.

Mission Purpose:   

     One of the main objectives of the first Indian mission to Mars is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operation of an interplanetary mission.

 

In addition, the Technological and Scientific objectives are as follows:

 

A. Technological Objectives:

 

Design and realization of a Mars orbiter with a capability to survive and perform Earth Bound Manoeuvres, cruise phase of 300 days, Mars orbit insertion / capture, and on-orbit phase around Mars.

 

Deep space communication, navigation, mission planning and management.

 

Incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.

 

B. Scientific Objectives:

 

Exploration of Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere by indigenous scientific instruments.

 

The Mars Orbiter:        

 

The Mars orbiter spacecraft is built by drawing upon the heritage of the previous satellites of ISRO and of course taking into consideration the newer challenges associated with an interplanetary mission to Mars.

 

The spacecraft, weighing 1340 kg at lift-off, is made of a primary structure comprising a sandwich construction with Aluminium and Composite Fibre Rein-forced Plastic (CFRP).

Challenges are a hallmark of this mission; a few of them are discussed below

 

Steering MOM:

 

Navigating and reaching close to Mars while meeting all the conditions required for Mars Capture was the most daunting task in this mission. The very distance that needs to be travelled to reach the target (Mars) is just one part of the challenge, what makes it even more difficult is the fact that the target itself is moving at a very rapid pace around the sun. Add to this the unknowns of venturing into the deep cosmos and you have a very formidable challenge "completely" defined. 

 

The prime mover of the spacecraft is the 440 N Liquid Engine capable of Orbit raising during Earth Bound Manoeuvers and also the crucial Mars Orbit Insertion. The eight 22 N thrusters were meant for attitude and orbit control. These nine engines were fired in order to effectively apply brakes on a rapidly racing MOM and its velocity (with respect to Mars) was reduced from 5.3 km/s to 4.2 km/s-hence achieving Mars capture.

 

Talking to MOM:

 

The complexities of communication with the craft during the journey and also the Mars Orbit phase are enormous thanks to the sheer distance (up to 400 million kms) involved and the relative positions of Mars, Earth and MOM. A communication system with a combination of Low Gain Antenna, Medium Gain Antenna and High Gain Antenna on board the space-craft and the 32 meter Indian Deep Space Network antenna and other ground antennae was put in place to handle communications during the different phases of the mission.

 

Signals could take anywhere between 6 to 43 minutes for two-way communication in the case of a Mars mission. This communication delay necessitates designing suitable Autonomy features on board so that the spacecraft can handle any situation on a real time basis rather than waiting for a command from Earth. It is this Autonomy feature that comes in handy when the communication with the spacecraft is not possible in situations like the sun or the planet Mars itself obstructing the line of sight between the ground antenna and MOM.

 

Powering MOM:

 

Lower solar irradiance and heat fluxes at Mars compared to Earth demanded larger solar panels for generating enough power required by the spacecraft. Three panels of Solar Array of size 1.8 m X 1.4 m each were designed to generate 840 W of power in Martian orbit. A 36 AH Lithium-Ion Battery was provided onboard for power storage.

Protecting MOM:

 

Though the average solar flux in Martian Orbit is only about 42% of what is experienced by a spacecraft orbiting Earth, the challenging part is the variation of this flux to an extent of ± 19% over the Martian year compared to just 3.5% around Earth. The craft was designed considering all the thermal and radiation environments around and enroute to Mars.

 

Mission Trials:

 

MOM and its subsystems were thoroughly tested for all the environments that MOM is expected to encounter during this mission. Electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility tests, illumination checks, reflector/antenna deployment tests and thermovacuum tests, to name a few, were successfully carried out on the integrated spacecraft before declaring it flight-ready. Spacecraft undergoing the thermal balance test which simulates the on-orbit conditions.

Onboard Instruments:  

       ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission carries five payloads for meeting the scientific objectives of MOM. A camera, two spectrometers, a radiometer and a photometer together enable surface imaging, particle environment and atmospheric studies. These payloads together make for the five senses of MOM!

 

1. Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP):

 

An absorption cell photometer, it relies on the relative abundance of deuterium and hydrogen in the Martian upper atmosphere for studying the escape processes of the upper atmosphere as well as water from Mars

 

2. Mars Color Camera (MCC):

 

This camera was conceived not just to capture images and information about the features and composition of the Martian surface but also for monitoring the dynamic events and the weather on Mars. Another objective was to provide the context information for other science payloads on-board the spacecraft and also probing Phobos & Deimos-the two moons of Mars.

 

3. Methane Sensor for Mars:

 

This payload is designed to measure the extent and also to map the sources of Methane in the Martian atmosphere based on the reflected solar radiation.

 

4. Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA):

 

A quadruple mass spectrometer capable of analysing the neutral composition in the range of 1 to 300 amu with unit mass resolution.

 

5. Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS):

 

This payload was designed to map the surface composition and mineralogy of Mars based on thermal emissions.

 

In Summary:

 

India has opened a new chapter of Space exploration and ISRO has soared greater heights with the Mars Orbiter Mission. India's first Mission to Mars relied on the rich heritage of satellite, Launch Vehicle and allied technologies developed so far. This mission certainly galvanized an entire generation of youngsters to look at Space science and technology with great hope and will go a long way in fostering a scientific temperament amongst the youth.

 

MOM spacecraft was realized in about a year's time and the entire mission including the launcher, spacecraft and ground segment was executed within the confines of a shoestring budget of approximately 450 Crore rupees. Given the staggeringly low success rate (about 42%) of International Mars Missions over the last four decades, ISRO's success in the very first attempt is a remarkable feat indeed.

 

MOM Highlights:  

 

Many Firsts to MOM's Credit:

 

India's first interplanetary mission

 

PSLV utilised for Mission design

 

Unique mission profile including six Earth Bound Manoeuvres

 

Successful Trans-Mars Injection in the very first attempt

 

Venturing beyond the sphere of Influence of Earth on a heliocentric path

 

Most economical interplanetary mission

 

Fast track project: Conceived in August 2010 and reached Martian orbit on 24-09-2014.

 

ISRO's first project to go social 

      facebook.com/isromom

      twitter com/MarsOrbiter

 

The Celestial opportunity to hurl a craft from Earth to Mars with the minimum energy presents itself once in every 26 months.

 

Mangalyaan meaning Mars craft in Hindi, the 1340kg spacecraft, after completing the 666 million kilometer Journey in more than 10 months (300 days), entered the Martian orbit on Sept. 24th at around 8AM (0230 GMT) having ignited the main 440 Newton liquid engine and eight small thrusters fired for 24 minutes that trimmed the speed of the craft from 22 km/s to allow smooth orbit.

 

India joins the United States, Russia and Europe in successfully sending probes to orbit or land on Mars. Apart from India, none managed to succeed on their first attempt. India is the first country in Asia to reach Mars, after an attempt by China failed to leave Earth's orbit in 2011.

 

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was achieved on a budget of 450 Crore ($74 million), nearly a tenth of the amount ($671 million) the US space agency Nasa spent on sending the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (Maven) spacecraft to Mars.

 

PM Narendra Modi:

 

"India's Mars orbiter cost less than the $100 million budget for the space thriller film Gravity”.

 

"Today MOM has met Mangal.Today Mangal is MOM. From the time this mission was named MOM, I was sure that MOM would not disappoint us”.

 

Dr. K Radhakrishnan:

 

"We are not racing with anybody. We are racing with ourselves. We have to race to reach the next level of excellence."

 

On Twitter:

 

Namaste, @MarsOrbiter!  Congratulations to @ISRO and India's first interplanetary mission upon achieving Mars orbit. Curiosity Rover (@MarsCuriosity) September 24, 2014.

 

Mars Timeline:

 

 Marsnik 1, Oct. 10, 1960-Soviet Union

 

Mars-2 Orbiter, May 19, 1971-Soviet Union

 

Viking 1, Aug. 20, 1975- NASA 

 

Viking 2, Sept. 9, 1975; Mariner 9, May 30, 1971.

 

Pathfinder spacecraft, Dec. 4, 1996; arrived on July 4, 1997. Sojourner Rover emerged from Pathfinder on July 6.

 

Nozomi spacecraft, July 4, 1998. Spirit and Opportunity Rovers launched to Mars in 2003, landed in Jan. 2004.

 

Mars Express spacecraft, June 3, 2003-European Space Agency (ESA). On Dec. 19, 2003, the Beagle 2 Lander was released.

 

Phoenix lander, Aug. 4, 2007, landed near the north pole on May 25, 2008

 

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Aug. 12, 2005, arrived in March 2006.

 

Phobos-Grunt mission with the Chinese orbiter Yinghuo-1), Nov. 9, 2011.

 

Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity), Nov. 26, 2011; landed on Aug. 5, 2012.

 

MAVEN, 2013, NASA arrived in 2014

 

MOM, 2013, ISRO, arrived in 2014.