India to the Moon
Soon, India Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft is going to join the Japanese Kaguya and the Chinese Chang’e-1 at the Moon.
Two days ago on October 22, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C11 successfully launched the 1380 kg Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota in Southern India.
Chandrayaan-1 is India’s first spacecraft mission beyond Earth’s orbit. Its plan is to study our Moon for two years using 11 scientific instruments where five instruments entirely designed and developed in India, three instruments from European Space Agency (ESA), one from Bulgaria and two from United States (NASA).
The primary objectives of Chandrayaan-1 are:
- To place an unmanned spacecraft in an orbit around the moon,
- To conduct mineralogical and chemical mapping of the lunar surface,
- To upgrade the technological base in the country.
Chandrayaan-1 will orbit the Moon at an altitude of 100 km from the lunar surface. As soon as it reaches its intended orbit, the 29 kg Moon Impact Probe by ISRO will be ejected from Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft at the earliest opportunity to hit the lunar surface and kick up some dust while the instruments onboard the probe analyse the particles.
ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Peenya in Bangalore will be the focal point of all the operational activities of Chandrayaan-1 during all the phases of the mission.
My Dark Sky 
[…] Reaches the Moon Just late last October, India launched the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft to the Moon. After two weeks cruising in space, the spacecraft finally entered into the lunar orbit on November […]
India Reaches the Moon « My Dark Sky said this on November 10, 2008 at 6:11 pm |