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MARS ORBITER MISSION
Marking India's first venture into the interplanetary space, MOM will explore and observe Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and the Martian atmosphere. Further, a specific search for methane in the Martian atmosphere will provide information about the possibility or the past existence of life on the planet.
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.
PSLV-C25
PSLV-C25, twenty fifth flight of PSLV launched Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
The challenging PSLV-C25 mission was optimised for the launch of Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft into a highly elliptical Earth orbit with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 23,500 km with an inclination of 19.2 degree with respect to the equator.
| PSLV- C25 Stages at a Glance | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STAGE-1 | PSOM-XL | STAGE-2 | STAGE-3 | STAGE-4 | |
| Propellant | Solid (HTPB Based) | Solid (HTPB Based) | Liquid (UH25 + N2O4) | Solid (HTPB Based) | Liquid (MMH + MON-3) |
| Propellant Mass (Tonne) | 138 | 12.2 | 42 | 7.6 | 2.5 |
| Peak Thrust (kN) | 4800 | 718 | 799 | 247 | 7.3 X 2 |
| Burn Time (sec) | 103 | 50 | 148 | 112 | 525 |
| Diameter (m) | 2.8 | 1 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 2.8 |
| Length (m) | 20 | 12 | 12.8 | 3.6 | 2.7 |
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Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft
Mars Orbiter Mission is India's first interplanetary mission to planet Mars with an orbiter craft designed to orbit Mars in an elliptical orbit. The Mission is primarily technological mission considering the critical mission operations and stringent requirements on propulsion and other bus systems of spacecraft. It has been configured to carry out observation of physical features of mars and carry out limited study of Martian atmosphere with following five payloads:
- Mars Colour Camera (MCC)
- Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS)
- Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM)
- Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA)
- Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP)
| Lift-off Mass | 1337 kg |
| Structures | Aluminium and Composite Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) sandwich construction-modified I-1 K Bus |
| Mechanism | Solar Panel Drive Mechanism (SPDM), Reflector & Solar panel deployment |
| Propulsion | Bi propellant system (MMH + N2O4) with additional safety and redundancy features for MOI. Proplellant mass:852 kg |
| Thermal System | Passive thermal control system |
| Power System | Single Solar Array-1.8m X 1.4 m - 3 panels - 840 W Generation (in Martian orbit), Battery:36AH Li-ion |
| Attitude and Orbit Control System | AOCE (Attitude and Orbit Control Electronics): with MAR31750 Processor Sensors: Star sensor (2Nos), Solar Panel Sun Sensor (1No), Coarse Analogue Sun Sensor Actuators: Reaction Wheels (4Nos), Thrusters (8Nos), 440N Liquid Engine |
| Antennae: | Low Gain Antenna (LGA), Mid Gain Antenna (MGA) and High Gain Antenna (HGA) |
| Launch Date | Nov 05, 2013 |
| Launch Site | SDSC SHAR Centre, Sriharikota, India |
| Launch Vehicle | PSLV - C25 |
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Mars Orbiter Mission Profile
1. Geo Centric Phase
The spacecraft is injected into an Elliptic Parking Orbit by the launcher. With six main engine burns, the spacecraft is gradually maneuvered into a departure hyperbolic trajectory with which it escapes from the Earth’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) with Earth’s orbital velocity + V boost. The SOI of earth ends at 918347 km from the surface of the earth beyond which the perturbing force on the orbiter is mainly due to the Sun. One primary concern is how to get the spacecraft to Mars, on the least amount of fuel. ISRO uses a method of travel called a Hohmann Transfer Orbit – or a Minimum Energy Transfer Orbit – to send a spacecraft from Earth to Mars with the least amount of fuel possible.
2. Helio Centric Phase
The spacecraft leaves Earth in a direction tangential to Earth’s orbit and encounters Mars tangentially to its orbit. The flight path is roughly one half of an ellipse around sun. Eventually it will intersect the orbit of Mars at the exact moment when Mars is there too. This trajectory becomes possible with certain allowances when the relative position of Earth, Mars and Sun form an angle of approximately 44o. Such an arrangement recur periodically at intervals of about 780 days. Minimum energy opportunities for Earth-Mars occur in November 2013, January 2016, May2018 etc.
3. Martian Phase
The spacecraft arrives at the Mars Sphere of Influence (around 573473 km from the surface of Mars) in a hyperbolic trajectory. At the time the spacecraft reaches the closest approach to Mars (Periapsis), it is captured into planned orbit around mars by imparting ∆V retro which is called the Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) manoeuvre. The Earth-Mars trajectory is shown in the above figure. ISRO plans to launch the Mars Orbiter Mission during the November 2013 window utilizing minimum energy transfer opportunity.
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Payloads
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