Did the project actually started one or two years ago? I can't see the developers churning out probe structures and engines a month or two after it started development...
On Monday, the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission program crossed an important milestone with the successful test firing for the first time of the liquid apogee motor.AsianScientist (Oct. 11, 2012) – On Monday, the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) program crossed an important milestone with the successful test firing for the first time of the liquid apogee motor at 1 am (IST).Speaking to Asian Scientist Magazine, ISRO chief spokesperson Devi Prasad Karnik said that the engine was fired for about 670 seconds and the test would go on for another 45 days.The test was carried out at ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Center at Mahendra Giri in Tamil Nadu. The engine is fired during orbit raising maneuvers.An ISRO official said that the challenge in the mission was that the engine has to restart after 300 days when the orbiter enters the Martian orbit.According to the present Mars mission profile, after launch, the 1,350 kg orbiter will operate around the earth-bound orbit six times as its altitude is raised before it begins its 300-day journey towards the Red Planet.A chart prepared by ISRO showed that in the final orbit the orbiter’s furthest point from earth will be 215,000 km and the nearest 600 km.After going around the earth six times, the orbiter will depart for Mars on November 26, 2013 and enter the Mars orbit on September 21, 2014. This is known as the Mars Orbit Insertion and is a crucial and nail biting operation.In a recent visit to the ISRO Satellite Center at Bangalore, Asian Scientist Magazine had the opportunity to see the orbiter in the clean room. In the coming days, it will be prepared for the challenging mission and it will start undergoing various tests from March 2013.
Any news and updates about the construction of the orbiter and its instruments? Are there any data available on the technical specifications of the science instruments and the orbiter itself?
Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 12/15/2012 02:10 pmAny news and updates about the construction of the orbiter and its instruments? Are there any data available on the technical specifications of the science instruments and the orbiter itself? This is old news about possible payloadshttp://www.asianscientist.com/topnews/isro-indian-mission-to-mars-red-planet-2013/The December conference report states that the 10 Indian Martian experiments suggested are:1) Probe For Infrared Spectroscopy for Mars (Prism) which will study certain aspects of the Martian atmosphere and “spatial and seasonal variations of these gases over the lifetime of the mission.”2) Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer (Menca) which will analyze the Martian upper atmosphere-exosphere region 400 km above the surface.3) Another instrument (Tis) will measure thermal emissions from the surface of the Red Planet. Its primary science goals include mapping the surface composition and mineralogy of Mars and understanding the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere by monitoring carbon dioxide levels.4) Using radio signals to study the atmosphere.5) Mars Color Camera (MCC) which can image from a highly elliptical orbit of 500 km x 80,000 km. It will be designed as a multi-purpose instrument which can image the topography of the Martian surface and map Martian polar caps. “It is expected to observe and help in furthering our understanding of events like dust storms and dust devils. From an elliptical orbit around Mars, the camera will return high quality visual images of Mars, its moons, asteroids and other celestial bodies from close quarters,” the report states.6) A Methane Sensor For Mars (MSM) has been recommended for detecting methane in the Martian atmosphere.7) A Mars Radiation Spectrometer (Maris) which can measure and characterize charged particle background levels during the cruise and orbit phase of the spacecraft. This instrument will play an important role for a possible future human mission to Mars as it will determine radiation exposure doses.8.) A Plasma and Current Experiment (Pace) which will assess what is known as “atmospheric escape and processes of the Martian atmosphere and the structure of the Martian tail.”9) A microwave remote sensing technique for sounding the Martian atmosphere. Scientists connected with this instrument say that it will be designed to be minimally affected during a dust storm.10) A suite of instruments to detect plasma waves in the Martian atmosphere.only some of the 10 experiments and payloads will be selected, with a focus on experiments that have not been done beforeFrom http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=775497:ISRO has also "gone through" preliminary design of a 1,315 kg satellite bus of "Chandrayaan heritage" for the mission. "Building (of the satellite bus) is going on," he said.ISRO officials said the Mars orbiter will be placed in an orbit of 500x80,000 km around the Red planet and will have a provision for carrying nearly 25 kg of scientific payloads on-board.
Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, but I couldn't find this question addressed anywhere. Will Mangalyaan have relay capabilities for surface probes the way Mars Express (and Odyssey and MRO) does? Since I haven't seen it advertised, I will assume no.
If this is a success are there any indications of plans for further Mars missions by ISRO?
There will not be any surface probe, so Mangalyaan does not need such capability. BTW scientific objectives of Mangalyaan are following:(i) to understand surface features of Mars like morphology, topography and mineralogy.(ii) to study the dynamics of the upper atmosphere of Mars, effects of solar wind and radiation and the escape of volatiles to Space and (iii) to observe Phobos and to estimate the orbits of asteroids during the Mars Transfer Trajectory.
Quote from: antriksh on 12/18/2012 05:31 pmThere will not be any surface probe, so Mangalyaan does not need such capability. BTW scientific objectives of Mangalyaan are following:(i) to understand surface features of Mars like morphology, topography and mineralogy.(ii) to study the dynamics of the upper atmosphere of Mars, effects of solar wind and radiation and the escape of volatiles to Space and (iii) to observe Phobos and to estimate the orbits of asteroids during the Mars Transfer Trajectory.My gut reaction was to say the Europe does some relay for NASA surface ops via Mars Express, even though the rovers are not their missions, but I sort of forgot about Beagle 2.That being said, it would be nice to have, and perhaps ISRO will have a relay package on their next orbiter.
