25 Apr

NASA’s Interplanetary Mission

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Content

• Mars Orbiter Mission
• Venus: Shukrayaan
• Chandrayaan 3.0 (LVM3-M4) Mission
  

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1)  Mars Orbiter Mission

• Details
  • Mars Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan is spacecraft orbiting MARS since 24 September 2014.
  • It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
  • It is India’s first interplanetary mission and ISRO has become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
  • It is the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, and the first nation in the world to do so in its first attempt.
• What is MOM doing?
  • It has been looking for signs of atmospheric methane while studying surface features – just like NASA’s MAVEN Mission. Methane is considered a biomarker: a substance whose presence indicates the current or historical presence of life.
  • MOM is also exploring and observing Mars surface features, morphology, minerology, and the Martian atmosphere.
• Mars Orbiter Mission – 2 (Mangalyaan – 2) is expected to be launched in the year 2024. It will consist of an orbiter and may also include a lander and rover.

2)  Venus: Shukrayaan-1

Why in news? 

• India to launch Shukrayaan Venus Mission in 2024 after pandemic delays

Details

• Shukrayaan-1 is a proposed orbiter to Venus by ISRO to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus. It will be first mission to Venus by ISRO.
• ISRO has been soliciting ideas for instruments for a Venus-mission since at least 2018.
• Earlier, ISRO was aiming for a mid-2023, but pandemic related delays have pushed the target to Dec 2024.
  • Note: This launch opportunity comes only in 19 months due to orbital configuration and period of Earth and Venus. So, after Dec 2024, the next opportunity will be available in mid-2026.
• It will be launched with the help of GSLV MK-II or GSLV MK-III.
• Venus Missions in the Past
  • Dozens of missions have flown to Venus since the 1960s, but only a few in recent years.
    • ESA’s Venus Express orbited the Venus between 2006 – 2014.
    • Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft entered orbit in 2015 after a previous unsuccessful attempt.
    • Several aircrafts are also performing flybys of Venus in the near future, including NASA’s Parker Solar Probe for Solar Observation, and Europe’s BEPIColombo en route to Mercury.

3)  Chandrayaan 3.0 (LVM3-M4) Mission

• Why in news?
  • Chandrayaan-3 becomes the first to land near Moon’s south pole (Aug 2023)
• Details
  • Chandrayaan -3 is the third Moon Mission of ISRO that was launched in July 2023 perched on GSLV-MK-3 heavy lift vehicle. It is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 and demonstrated end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving in lunar surface when it landed on the south pole of Moon on 23^rd Aug 2023.
  • With this, India has become the fourth country in the world after USA, Russia and China to successfully land on Moon.

A)  Understanding the different phases and path taken by Chandrayaan

• LVM-3 launched the Chandrayaan-3 in an elliptical parking orbit of 170 X 36500 km.
• Chandrayaan was launched on 14^th July 2023. The whole process took 42 days, with the landing taking place on Aug 23.

B) Components of Chandrayaan 3.0:

• It consists of a Propulsion Module (PM), Lander Module (LM), and a Rover with an objective of developing and demonstrating new technologies required for inter-planetary mission. Note: It doesn’t have an orbiter module.

Propulsion Module (PM) PM carried the LM from launch vehicle injection till final lunar 100 km circular orbit and separated LM from PM. This propulsion module has Spectro-Polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload to study the spectral and Polari metric measurements of Earth from the lunar orbit.
The Lander (Vikram) had the capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and deploy rover. It happened on 23rd Aug 2023. It remained stationary on the surface and carries four payloads which would record the chemical, thermal, and seismic instruments of the moon’s surface. Lander Payloads: Lander module has four payloads (Chaste, RAMBHA, ILSA and LRA) Chandra Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE): To carry out the measurements of thermal properties of lunar surface near polar region. Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) for measuring the seismicity around the landing site and delineating the structure of the lunar crust and mantle.	RAMBHA- LP (Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and atmosphere) – RAMBHA: To measure the near surface plasma (ions and electrons) density and its changes with time. A passive Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) from NASA is accommodated for lunar laser ranging studies. It acts as a target for lasers for very accurate measurements for future missions.
Rover (Pragyaan) is a 6 wheeled robotic vehicle. Life: One lunar day (14 earth day) Payload: Laser Induced breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS): It will determine the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar surface. Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS): It will determine the composition of elements such as magnesium, aluminium, silicon, potassium, calcium, titanium and iron in the lunar soil and rocks.

B)   Landing was the most complicated part here:

• Landing is the most complicated part of the mission. The Lander and Rover get ejected at a speed of around 6,000 km/hr and have to be slowed down to roughly 3 km/hr before it lands. Since moon doesn’t have atmosphere, parachute kind of mechanism can’t be used. Here, thrusters had to be fired in opposite direction to slow down the lander.

C)   Where did Lander Land?

• It landed at around 70-degree S near the southern pole of the moon.
• Why?
  1. The site was selected as there are several craters here that are permanent in shade and cane be reservoir of frozen water which is key to the future space mission.

E)   Rover:

Within a few hours of landing, ISRO also released a 26-kg rover from the lander module, which slided on the ramp to reach the moon’s surface. The six wheeled rover, which is carrying two instruments and moves very slowly, is expected to crawl on the surface for 14 days, conducting chemical and elemental analysis of lunar soil and rocks.

F)   Comparing Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3

	Chandrayaan-1	Chandrayaan-2	Chandrayaan-3
Year	2008	2019	2023
Rocket Used	PSLV	LVM-3	LVM-3
Payloads	Orbiter + Impactor Module (for crash landing)	Orbiter + Lander (Vikram) + Rover (Pragyan)	Lander + Rover
Successful	Yes	Partially Yes (Lander failed)	Yes
	Perhaps the most important discovery of Chandrayaan-1 was the discovery of water and hydroxyl (OH) molecules in the Moon’s thin atmosphere (exosphere) as well on the lunar surface. Buried Lava Tubes: The terrain mapping camera and hyperspectral imager on board Chandrayaan-1 detected an underground lava tube, which, scientists believe, can provide a safe environment for human habitation in the future. It can protect against hazardous radiation, small meteoric impacts, extreme temperature and dust storms on the surface.	It helped in separately identifying the water and hydroxyl molecules, and mapping water features across the moon for the first time.

G)  Chandrayaan 3 Propulsion Module Retraces Steps to Earth Orbit: Why it matters? (Dec 2023)

What happened?

• Scientists have brought the propulsion module (PM) of Chandrayaan 3 mission back into earth orbit.
• This was not part of original mission plan. It utilized the logistics advantage of near perfect mission, especially the availability of more than 100 Kg of fuel.
• How was this achieved?
  • ISRO performed maneuver to raise the orbit of the PM around the moon (from 150 km to 5,112 kms)
  • Second maneuver targeted an earth orbit of 1.8 lakh X 3.8 lakh km.

Significance:

• This experiment prepares ISRO for future missions, especially the ambitious Lunar Sample Return Mission.
  • Through this ISRO has been able to understand what is involved in the “planning and execution of trajectory and maneuvers to return from Moon to Earth”

H)  Significance of Going to Moon:

• It underlined India’s rise as a space and technology powerhouse. It will also strengthen India’s soft power in the global community.
• Since moon is the closest cosmic body to Earth, the plans to explore rest of the universe starts with exploration of the moon. Moon can also act as a promising test bed to demonstrate technologies required for future deep-space missions.
• It would further help “stimulate the advancement of technology, promote global alliances and inspire a future generation of explorers and scientists.”

Resources: Recent increase in interest in Moon is primarily due to possibility of important minerals being found on Moon.