INDIA'S JOURNEY TO SPACE

INDIA’S JOURNEY TO SPACE. Name: Varun Bhutoria Class: 11 Section: A.

BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIA’S SPACE DEVELOPMENT. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the space agency of India. ISRO was previously the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), set up by the Government of India in 1962, as envisioned by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai . ISRO was formed on August 15, 1969 and superseded INCOSPAR with an expanded role to harness space technology. DOS was set up and ISRO was brought under DOS in 1972. [DOS = department of space] ISRO has its headquarters in Bengaluru. Its activities are spread across various centres and units. Launch Vehicles are built at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram; Integration and launching of satellites and launch vehicles are carried out from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Srihari Kota and many such other places..

INDIA’S SPACE MISSIONS. COMPLETED MISSIONS. Chandrayaan programme (Lunar) a) Chandrayaan 1 b) Chandrayaan 2 c) Chandrayaan 3 2. Mars Orbiter Mission (Interplanetary) 3. Astrostat (Astronomy).

CHANDRAYAAN PROGRAMEE.

CHANDRAYAAN - 1. Launch Date and Time: 22 nd October , 2008 ; 00:52 UTC Rocket: PSLV-XL C11 Last Contact: 28 th August, 2009 Mission Duration: Planned  2 years ; Final  10 months, 6 days Orbital Insertion: 8 th November , 2008 Navigation and Control : The craft was 3-axis stabilised with two star sensors , gyros and four reaction wheels . The craft carried dual redundant bus management units for attitude control, sensor processing, antenna orientation, etc..

OBJECTIVES OF CHANDRAYAAN -1. The mission had the following stated objectives: 1. to design, develop, launch and orbit a spacecraft around the Moon using an Indian-made launch-vehicle. 2. to conduct scientific experiments using instruments on the spacecraft which would yield data: a) for the preparation of a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution of 5–10 m or 16–33 ft) of both the near and far sides of the Moon b) for chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface at high spatial resolution, mapping particularly the chemical elements magnesium , aluminium , silicon , calcium , iron , titanium , radon , urani um , and thorium . 3. to increase scientific knowledge. 4. to test the impact of a sub-satellite (Moon Impact Probe – MIP) on the surface of the Moon as a fore-runner for future soft-landing missions..

RESULTS OF THE MISSION. In its 10-month orbit around the Moon, Chandrayaan-1's X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) detected titanium, confirmed the presence of calcium, and gathered the most accurate measurements yet of magnesium, aluminium and iron on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-1 failed after successfully completing its operations for 312 days and achieved 95% of its planned objectives..

CHANDRAYAAN – 2. Launch Date and Time : 22 nd July , 2019 ; 09:13:12 UTC Rocket : LVM3 M1 Expected Landing Date and Time: 6 th September 2019 ; 20:23 UTC Orbital Insertion : 20 th August , 2019 ; 3:32 UTC Chandrayaan-2 launch had been scheduled for March 2018 initially, but was first delayed to April and then to October 2018 to conduct further tests on the vehicle. On 19 June 2018, after the program's fourth Comprehensive Technical Review meeting, a number of changes in configuration [ and landing sequence were planned for implementation which increased the gross lift-off mass of spacecraft from 3,250 kg to 3,850 kg..

OBJECTIVES OF CHANDRAYAAN - 2. The primary objectives of the Chandrayaan-2 lander were to demonstrate the ability to soft-land and operate a robotic rover on the lunar surface . The scientific goals of the orbiter are: 1. to study lunar topography , mineralogy , elemental abundance , the lunar exosphere , and signatures of hydroxyl and water ice . 2. to study the water ice in the south polar region and thickness of the lunar regolith on the surface. 3. to map the lunar surface and help to prepare 3D maps of it..

RESULTS OF THE MISSION. 1. Using far more sensitive instruments, the Imaging Infra-Red Spectrometer (IIRS) onboard Chandrayaan-2 has been able to distinguish between hydroxyl and water molecules and found unique signatures of both. 2. This is the most precise information about the presence of H2O molecules on the Moon to date. 3. Previously, water was known to be present mainly in the polar regions of the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 has now found signatures of water at all latitudes, although its abundance varies from place to place. 4. The Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) measures the Moon’s X-ray spectrum to examine the presence of major elements such as magnesium, aluminum, silicon, calcium, titanium, iron, etc. 5. This instrument has detected the minor elements chromium and manganese for the first time through remote sensing..

UNFORTUNATE CRASH OF THE SPACECRAFT (VIKRAM). Vikram began its descent at 20:08:03 UTC, 6 September 2019 and was scheduled to land on the Moon at around 20:23 UTC. The descent and soft-landing were to be performed by the on-board computers on Vikram , with mission control unable to make corrections. The initial descent was considered within mission parameters, passing critical braking procedures as expected, but the lander's trajectory began to deviate at about 2.1 km (1.3 mi) above the surface. The final telemetry readings during ISRO's live-stream show that Vikram' s final vertical velocity was 58 m/s (210 km/h) at 330 m (1,080 ft) above the surface, which a number of experts noted, would have been too fast for the lunar lander to make a successful landing. Initial reports suggesting a crash were confirmed by ISRO chairman K. Sivan, stating that "it must have been a hard landing". However, it contradicted initial claims from anonymous ISRO officials that the lander was intact and lying in a tilted position ..

CHANDRAYAAN – 3. Launch Date and Time: 14 th July , 2023 ; 14:35:17 IST (9:05:17 UTC) Rocket: LVM3 M4 Expected Landing Date and Time: 23 rd August , 2023; 17:47 IST (12:17 UTC) Chandrayaan-3 is the third and most recent lunar Indian Space Research exploration mission under the Chandrayaan programme . It consists of a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan similar to Chandrayaan-2 , but does not have an orbiter. Its propulsion module behaves like a communication relay satellite. The propulsion module carries the lander and rover configuration until the spacecraft is in a 100 km lunar orbit. The key idea is technology demonstration of crucial capability to soft land on lunar surface safely that the earlier mission could not achieve..

OBJECTIVES OF CHANDRAYAAN - 3. ISRO has set three main objectives for the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which include: Getting a lander to land safely and softly on the surface of the Moon. Observing and demonstrating the rover’s loitering capabilities on the Moon. In-site observation & conducting experiments on the materials available on the lunar surface to better understand composition of the Moon..

SUPPORT BY EUROPEAN SPACE TRACKING. The European Space Tracking (ESTRACK) operated by European Space Agency (ESA) will support the mission according to a contract. Under the new cross-support arrangement, ESA tracking support could be provided for upcoming ISRO missions such as those of India’s first human spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan , the Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander and the Aditya-L1 solar research mission. In return, future ESA missions will receive similar support from ISRO’s own tracking stations. It is hoped that Chandrayaan – 3 will be successful and lead India to great heights..

MANGALYAAN.