The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) to be Launched on 5 November 2013

Indian Space Research Organisation on 22 October 2013 announced that it will launch India’s first mission to Mars -Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) on 5 November 2013 from Sriharikota space station.

The Mars Orbiter Mission , ‘Mangalyan’, would be launched onboard PSLV C25 on 5 November 2013 at 14:36 hours from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

Mars Orbiter Mission is India’s first interplanetary mission to planet Mars with an orbiter craft designed to orbit Mars in an elliptical orbit.

Mission Objectives

one of the main objectives of the first Indian mission to Mars is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission.

A. Technological Objectives:

• Design and realisation of a Mars orbiter with a capability to survive and perform Earth bound manoeuvres, cruise phase of 300 days, Mars orbit insertion / capture, and on-orbit phase around Mars.
• Deep space communication, navigation, mission planning and management.
• Incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.

B. Scientific Objectives:

• Exploration of Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere by indigenous scientific instruments.

Payloads

1. Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP)
2. Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM)
3. Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA)
4. Mars Colour Camera (MCC)
5. Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometre (TIS)

About Mars Orbiter Mission

Primary objectives of the Mars mission are to demonstrate India’s technological capability to send a satellite to orbit around Mars and conduct meaningful experiments such as looking for signs of life, take pictures of the red planet and study Martian environment.

The main aim of MOM to be to seek whether there is methane, considered a precursor chemical for life, on the red planet. Methane sensor, one of the five payloads (scientific instruments) on board the spacecraft, would look to detect the presence of methane.

The XL version of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle would be used for launching of the mission.

The satellite will carry compact science experiment instruments, totalling a mass of 15 kg. There will be five instruments to study Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy.

After leaving the earth’s orbit, the spacecraft will cruise in deep space for about ten months using its own propulsion system and will reach Martian transfer trajectory in September 2014.

The spacecraft subsequently is planned to enter into a 372 km by 80000 km elliptical orbit around Mars.