Author Topic: ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission - Nov 2013 launch to September 2014 arrival - UPDATES  (Read 786945 times)

Offline Ohsin

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Hopefully they might be dissuaded from the crashing part.

Which is  riskier? Reentry burn up of ~500 kg orbiter or being an in-orbit space debris?

Also Emily Lakdawalla's latest write up on Mars orbiter mission.
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/10061556-mars-orbiter-mission-update.html
Agreed we need more global views!

Meanwhile latest image shared of Shield Volcano Tharsis Tholus.

Quote
MCC image, taken on September 03, 2015 at an altitude of 6144 km with a resolution of 320 m,  shows  an intermediate sized shield volcano known as Tharsis Tholus. It is located in the eastern Tharsis region of the planet Mars.  The Tharsis Tholus is dome-shaped with flank slopes ranging from less than 1° near the summit to up to 16° at the base. The average flank slope is 10°, making it one of the steepest volcanoes on Mars. The volcano rises to an elevation of about 9 km (5.5 miles).
http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/shield-volcano-tharsis-tholus
« Last Edit: 10/07/2015 10:18 am by Ohsin »
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Offline ISP

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Hopefully they might be dissuaded from the crashing part.

Which is  riskier? Reentry burn up of ~500 kg orbiter or a being in orbit space debris?

Also Emily Lakdawalla's latest write up on Mars orbiter mission.
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/10061556-mars-orbiter-mission-update.html
Agreed we need more global views!

Meanwhile latest image shared of Shield Volcano Tharsis Tholus.

Quote
MCC image, taken on September 03, 2015 at an altitude of 6144 km with a resolution of 320 m,  shows  an intermediate sized shield volcano known as Tharsis Tholus. It is located in the eastern Tharsis region of the planet Mars.  The Tharsis Tholus is dome-shaped with flank slopes ranging from less than 1° near the summit to up to 16° at the base. The average flank slope is 10°, making it one of the steepest volcanoes on Mars. The volcano rises to an elevation of about 9 km (5.5 miles).
http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/shield-volcano-tharsis-tholus

Far riskier to let it reenter, and possibly have pieces survive to the surface, though only if MOM wasn't sterilized to a safe level.

The space debris around Mars is a number of magnitudes lower than that of the Earth, and spacecraft can be tracked rather accurately, so the possibility of MOM threatening another mission if left in orbit seems rather low. Far safer to leave it in orbit after passivization.

Offline Dalhousie

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Hopefully they might be dissuaded from the crashing part.

Which is  riskier? Reentry burn up of ~500 kg orbiter or a being in orbit space debris?

Also Emily Lakdawalla's latest write up on Mars orbiter mission.
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2015/10061556-mars-orbiter-mission-update.html
Agreed we need more global views!

Meanwhile latest image shared of Shield Volcano Tharsis Tholus.

Quote
MCC image, taken on September 03, 2015 at an altitude of 6144 km with a resolution of 320 m,  shows  an intermediate sized shield volcano known as Tharsis Tholus. It is located in the eastern Tharsis region of the planet Mars.  The Tharsis Tholus is dome-shaped with flank slopes ranging from less than 1° near the summit to up to 16° at the base. The average flank slope is 10°, making it one of the steepest volcanoes on Mars. The volcano rises to an elevation of about 9 km (5.5 miles).
http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/shield-volcano-tharsis-tholus

Far riskier to let it reenter, and possibly have pieces survive to the surface, though only if MOM wasn't sterilized to a safe level.

The space debris around Mars is a number of magnitudes lower than that of the Earth, and spacecraft can be tracked rather accurately, so the possibility of MOM threatening another mission if left in orbit seems rather low. Far safer to leave it in orbit after passivization.

No Mars probe is sterilised these days, just components of them, and only them if they are entering a potentially special area, e.g. the subsurface.
Apologies in advance for any lack of civility - it's unintended

Offline baldusi

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AIUI, burn up in the atmosphere is considered a good sterilization method.

Offline Star One

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AIUI, burn up in the atmosphere is considered a good sterilization method.

There's no guarantee it would completely burn up in the thinner Martian atmosphere.

Offline eeergo


Far riskier to let it reenter, and possibly have pieces survive to the surface, though only if MOM wasn't sterilized to a safe level.

The space debris around Mars is a number of magnitudes lower than that of the Earth, and spacecraft can be tracked rather accurately, so the possibility of MOM threatening another mission if left in orbit seems rather low. Far safer to leave it in orbit after passivization.

They can only be tracked so accurately if they are transmitting, or conversely if you have ground radars or other tracking devices on the ground. Since Mars doesn't have the infrastructure, once it stops transmitting and errors or perturbations in the orbit had time to propagate adequately, you'd have no idea where the dead probe would be. And of course there is a good chance it will fragment over the years.

If they have enough maneuvering capability left, they could even direct it towards a well-know "desertic" area where possibilities for contamination are lower. Anyway, there have been re-entries of probes that weren't well sterilized (and probably were tougher in construction, allowing for more surviving fragments to reach the surface) in the early years of Mars exploration, so a few pieces that were not very contaminated to begin with, which have been exposed to interplanetary space conditions for years, and which will pass through re-entry plasma and a high-velocity impact on a mostly hostile surface environment are probably pretty safe from a contamination point of view.
-DaviD-


Offline vineethgk

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Wow!! Thats a superb set! Thanks for sharing antriksh...

Offline Ohsin

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Henry Crater -IMAGE FROM MCC

Henry Crater is a large crater in the Arabia quadrangle of Mars, located at 10.9° north latitude and 336.7° west longitude. It is 171 kilometers (106 mi) in diameter and was named after the brothers Paul-Pierre Henry and Mathieu-Prosper Henry, both of whom were French telescope makers and astronomers.

Henry Crater has a large mound in its center that shows layers in certain parts. The layers can be a few meters thick or tens of meters thick.  It is believed that the regular pattern of layers in Arabia is connected to the regular way in which the rotational axis of Mars changes.

This image was  taken on Aug 29, 2015 at an altitude of 5800 km with a resolution of 301 m by MCC.

http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/henry-crater-image-mcc

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Offline sanman

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National Geographic special on India's Mars mission to air November 5:

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/509840/isros-mars-mission-nat-geo.html
« Last Edit: 11/03/2015 11:40 am by sanman »

Offline hop

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First(?) paper based on MOM data "Estimation of dust variability and scale height of atmospheric optical depth (AOD) in the Valles Marineris on Mars by Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) data" http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103515004832 (paywall)

Offline Ohsin

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First(?) paper based on MOM data "Estimation of dust variability and scale height of atmospheric optical depth (AOD) in the Valles Marineris on Mars by Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) data" http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103515004832 (paywall)

What about these?

Indian Mars-Colour-Camera captures far-side of the Deimos: A rarity among contemporary Mars orbiters
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032063315002482

Mars Solar Conjunction Prediction Modeling
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576515003859
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Offline Ohsin

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On second anniversary of PSLV- C25 launch that carried Indian Mars orbiter probe. Isro has released a book that summarizes its journey so far.

"From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet"

http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/fishing-hamlet-to-red-planet-download-e-book
« Last Edit: 01/06/2016 04:08 pm by Ohsin »
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Offline Ohsin

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Arabia Terra-image from Mars Color Camera

Arabia Terra is a large upland region in the north of Mars located mostly in the Arabia quadrangle.

Arabia Terra is a large upland region in the north of Mars located mostly in the Arabia quadrangle. It is densely cratered and heavily eroded. This battered topography indicates great age, and Arabia Terra is presumed to be one of the oldest terrains on the planet. Gill Crater is an impact crater in the Arabia quadrangle of Mars.

This image is taken by Mars Color Camera on 22nd October 2015 at an altitude of 14893 km with a resolution of 774 m.

http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/arabia-terra-image-mars-color-camera
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Offline Ohsin

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Data from MOM Scientific Instruments

The first important operation carried out in the Martian phase was to operate all the five  payloads (scientific instruments). All the payloads have been operated and tested successfully. Mars Orbiter Spacecraft is now circling the Red Planet in an orbit with a periareion of       311 km and an apoareion  of 71,311 km. All the five payloads of MOM are in good health and continue to provide data.

The Mars Colour Camera (MCC) has acquired more than 440 images so far. A Mars Atlas has been released and the same is made available on ISRO website. MCC has achieved almost all the intended goals.  It is planned to study temporal variations of features in comparison with older images of the past from other spacecraft and its own images.

The MENCA payload has observed several atomic species in its neutral mass spectrum.  Specific studies of altitude variation of theses were made from the data in Dec. 2014, when the observations were made near periareion at low altitude and conditions were favourable.  Prominent atomic species noted are with mass units 28, 44; trends with varying altitudes were also discussed.  These results will be consolidated for a publication in the near future.  The results are also being compared where possible, with the MAVEN data.

The analysis of the TIS payload was also presented during the meet.  Since the instrument has an uncooled bolometer as detector, good sensitivity is obtained only during higher temperatures and therefore requires appropriate conditions for observations.  This instrument found the variation in temperature during dust storms to be lowered by 10-15 degrees, which was verified using data from Earth based observations also.

The LAP payload had 80 operations so far and hydrogen Lyman Alpha intensity is estimated as a function of altitude.  Calibrations with UV stars are to be done, for which the payload team will work out the sensitivity.  Besides, the joint analysis of data using multiple payloads was also presented.

The dust patterns around high altitude regions and in Valles (Valleys)  were studied  and mean height of dust layer was estimated to be ~1.5 km. Albedo using the 1.65 micron  studies of the reference channel of Methane sensor for Mars (MSM) was also estimated.  Atmospheric optical depth  and its variation was also estimated.

Additionally, joint morphological studies using MCC  and the  high resolution mineralogical data with the NASA CRISM  data was also presented,  which enables the identification  of different compounds like sulphates and ferrous based compounds.

During the meet, a presentation on future challenges and mission plan for the same was also made.   Some of the points covered were

Long eclipses of ~500 minutes expected in Feb 2017 due to eclipses occurring in apoareion compared to the <100 minute eclipses which were near periareion so far ;
Maneuvering plans for payload operations with appropriate settings for the reaction wheels
Further imaging of the Martian Satellite Deimos
Opportunities for imaging North pole and other specific targets of Mars

This was followed by presentations on individual payloads, and joint activities with NASA undertaken so far

Regular health checks and orbit determination of MOM is also being carried out. The Spacecraft is in good health and continues to work as expected. Scientific analysis of the data being received from the Mars Orbiter spacecraft is in progress.

http://www.isro.gov.in/second-anniversary-of-mom-launch-celebrated
« Last Edit: 11/10/2015 08:20 am by Ohsin »
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Offline Dalhousie

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Far riskier to let it reenter, and possibly have pieces survive to the surface, though only if MOM wasn't sterilized to a safe level.


Mars orbiters don't need to be sterilised, they just have to be at level III cleanliness.

http://w.astro.berkeley.edu/~kalas/ethics/documents/environment/COSPAR%20Planetary%20Protection%20Policy.pdf
Apologies in advance for any lack of civility - it's unintended

Offline sanman

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National Geographic - India's Mission to Mars (Hindi)


Offline Ohsin

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Sharonov crater-Image from Mars Orbiter

Sharonov crater  is an impact crater of size 100 km located in Lunae Palus Quadrangle of Mars. Sharonov is located within the outflow channel system Kasei valles (Kasei mean Mars in Japanese language),  a giant system of canyons is Mare Acidalium and Lunae Palus Quadrangle. This huge system is 300 miles wide in some places. In contrast, Earth's Grand Canyon is only 18 miles wide. This image is taken by Mars colour camera on 13th November at an altitude of 24023 km with a resolution of 1.2 km

http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/sharonov-crater-image-mars-orbiter
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Offline Ohsin

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Olympus Mons - Picture from Mars Orbiter

Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system which is present on planet Mars. The altitude of Olympus Mons is nearly three times the altitude of the largest peak on Earth, Mt.Everest.

Tharsis volcanoes are Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons and Ascraeus Mons. Tharsis Montes are product of volcanism and they are associated with tectonic processes which caused extensive crustal deformation in this area.

Water  vapor clouds are seen around mons top which is a usual phenomenon during this season in Mars. This image is taken by MCC on November 27, 2015 at an altitude of 32,282 km with a resolution of 1679 m

Edit:
http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/olympus-mons-image-mars-orbiter
« Last Edit: 12/19/2015 03:04 pm by Ohsin »
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Offline Ohsin

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Mojave Crater-Image From MCC

Mojave is a ~3 million year old impact crater (58 km in diameter) and is located  in Oxia Palus quadrangle of Mars. It has land forms that are similar to southwest American Mojave desert on Earth. MCC  has taken this image on August 4, 2015 at an altitude of 2987 km with a resolution of 155 m

http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c25-mars-orbiter-mission/mojave-crater-image-mcc
"Well, three cheers to Sharma, but our real baby is INSAT."

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