Context:
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) confirmed that the Mars Orbiter craft has lost communication and is non-recoverable and the Mangalyaan mission has attained end-of-life.
Relevance:
GS II: Science and technology
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Mars Orbiter Mission
- Objectives
About Mars Orbiter Mission :
- The PSLV-C25 rocket carrying the Rs 450 crore Mars Orbiter Mission lifted out on November 5, 2013, and the MOM spacecraft successfully integrated into the Martian orbit on its first attempt in September 2014.
- India’s first interplanetary mission was Mangalyaan.
- India became the fourth nation in the world to reach the planet after Roscosmos, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and the European Space Agency as a result of the expedition.
- China referred to Mangalyaan as the “Pride of Asia.”
- The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), a technology demonstrator that was intended to last only six months, has been in orbit around Mars for almost eight years.
Description:
- It carried 850 kg of fuel and 5 science payloads including a Mars Color Camera (MCC) which it was using to study the Martian surface and atmosphere since entering orbit successfully.
- The highly elliptical orbit geometry of MOM enabled MCC to take snapshots of the ‘Full disc’ of Mars at its farthest point and finer details from the closest point.
- The MCC has produced more than 1000 images and published a Mars Atlas.
- Other instruments are: Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS), Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) and Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP).
Objectives:
- It was aimed at studying the Martian atmosphere.
- To explore Martian surface features, mineralogy, morphology and atmosphere using indigenous scientific instruments.
- A crucial objective of MOM was to develop technologies required in planning, designing, management and operations of an interplanetary mission.
-Source: The Hindu
