Countdown for Mars Mission. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) initiates a dry run of the Mars Orbital Mission on board the PSLV C25 today. Mars Mission is scheduled for lift-off from the Launchpad 1, spaceport, Srihaikota on November 5.The dry run will simulate the entire command sequence based on which the Launch Authorisation Board will take the final call oncountdown, leading to lift-off at 2.38pm on November 5. ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said the mission had the scope for course correction at three stages — when the satellite leaves earth and enters Mars’ sphere of influence, a heliocentric middle phase that lasts 300 days and when the satellite is inserted into Martian orbit.
The XL variant of the four-stage PSLV — second and fourth featuring liquid propellants — is designed to first inject the spacecraft into an elliptical path around the earth in a geocentric phase, then a heliocentric phase, where the flight path is roughly one half an ellipse around the sun.
Mars exploration opportunities come once every 26 months. Such a rare trajectory — that occurs when the Earth, Mars and the Sun form an angle of 44 degrees — can offer substantial minimum energy opportunities and occur only at intervals of about 780 days, with the next window possible in January 2016 and then in May 2018.
On December 1, the satellite would be injected into trans-Martian orbit and begin a long cruise of 300 days. The ISRO will also depend on antennae-mounted ships Nalanda and Yamuna to track the spacecraft’s trajectory from locations on the South Pacific Ocean, when ground stations would briefly lose signal from the spacecraft for about 10 minutes after the fourth stage propulsion, burnout and separation of the satellite.
Once the satellite is injected into Martian orbit, the ISRO will go in for scientific observations that include investigating the Martian atmosphere for traces of methane to determine signs of life. One of the main objectives the first Indian mission to Mars is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission
PSLV is the XL variant of the four-stage— second and fourth featuring liquid propellants which has been designed to first inject the spacecraft into an elliptical path around the earth in a geocentric phase, then a heliocentric phase, where the flight path is roughly one half an ellipse around the sun.
Launchpad 1 in Sriharikota is now fully ready for the mission and PSLV-25 is fully integrated for its 25 th flight of whose the lift off mass is 1340 Kg. Mission is costing approximately Rs 450 crore. U.S., Russia and the European Union consortium has send 51 missions in the past with less than 50 % success rate.
Overall, it is a bold attempt of scientific exploration for India and I wish the mission and ISRO Best of luck!
The XL variant of the four-stage PSLV — second and fourth featuring liquid propellants — is designed to first inject the spacecraft into an elliptical path around the earth in a geocentric phase, then a heliocentric phase, where the flight path is roughly one half an ellipse around the sun.
Mars exploration opportunities come once every 26 months. Such a rare trajectory — that occurs when the Earth, Mars and the Sun form an angle of 44 degrees — can offer substantial minimum energy opportunities and occur only at intervals of about 780 days, with the next window possible in January 2016 and then in May 2018.
On December 1, the satellite would be injected into trans-Martian orbit and begin a long cruise of 300 days. The ISRO will also depend on antennae-mounted ships Nalanda and Yamuna to track the spacecraft’s trajectory from locations on the South Pacific Ocean, when ground stations would briefly lose signal from the spacecraft for about 10 minutes after the fourth stage propulsion, burnout and separation of the satellite.
Once the satellite is injected into Martian orbit, the ISRO will go in for scientific observations that include investigating the Martian atmosphere for traces of methane to determine signs of life. One of the main objectives the first Indian mission to Mars is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission
PSLV is the XL variant of the four-stage— second and fourth featuring liquid propellants which has been designed to first inject the spacecraft into an elliptical path around the earth in a geocentric phase, then a heliocentric phase, where the flight path is roughly one half an ellipse around the sun.
Launchpad 1 in Sriharikota is now fully ready for the mission and PSLV-25 is fully integrated for its 25 th flight of whose the lift off mass is 1340 Kg. Mission is costing approximately Rs 450 crore. U.S., Russia and the European Union consortium has send 51 missions in the past with less than 50 % success rate.
Overall, it is a bold attempt of scientific exploration for India and I wish the mission and ISRO Best of luck!
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