Chandrayaan Mission

Chandrayaan-1

Scientific Objectives

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is aimed at high-resolution remote sensing of the moon in visible, near infrared (NIR), low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions. Specifically the objectives are

·         To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10 m) of both near and far side of the moon.

 

·         To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of mineral and chemical elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium as well as high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with high spatial resolution.

The Simultaneous photo geological, mineralogical and chemical mapping through Chandrayaan-1 mission will enable identification of different geological units to infer the early evolutionary history of the Moon. The chemical mapping will enable to determine the stratigraphy and nature of the Moon's crust and thereby test certain aspects of magma ocean hypothesis. This may allow to determine the compositions of impactors that bombarded the Moon during its early evolution which is also relevant to the formation of the Earth.

Mission Objectives

·         To realise the mission goal of harnessing the science payloads, lunar craft and the launch vehicle with suitable ground support systems including Deep Space Network (DSN) station.

·         To realise the integration and testing, launching and achieving lunar polar orbit of about 100 km, in-orbit operation of experiments, communication/ telecommand, telemetry data reception, quick look data and archival for scientific utilisation by scientists.

Mission Sequence

·         Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota by PSLV-XL (PSLV-C11) on 22 October 2008 at 06:22 hrs IST.

·         On 14 November at 20:06 hrs IST, the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was ejected from the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft and hard landed on the lunar surface near the South Polar Region at 20:31 hrs IST after 25 minutes journey. It placed the Indian tricolour, which was pasted on the sides of MIP on the Moon.

·          Currently, the scientific instruments/payloads are being commissioned sequentially and exploration of Moon with the array of onboard instruments have begun.

Scientific Payloads

Chandrayaan-1 is an Indian Mission to the Moon. The indigenously developed payload/ experiments are:

1.     TMC : Terrain Mapping stereo Camera (TMC) in the panchromatic band, having 5 m spatial resolution and 20 km swath

2.     HySI : Hyper Spectral Imaging camera (HySI) operating in 400-950 nm bands with a spectral                      resolution better than 15 nm and spatial resolution of 80 m with a swath of 20 km

3.     LLRI : Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) with height resolution of less than 5 m.

4.     HEX : High Energy X-ray spectrometer (HEX) using Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CdZnTe) detector in the 30- 270 keV energy region with spatial resolution of 33 km

5.     MIP : Moon Impact Probe (MIP) as piggyback on the main orbiter of the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, which will impact on the surface of the moon.

Apart from the above indigenous payloads/experiments, ISRO solicited proposals through an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) from International and Indian Scientific Community for participating in the mission by providing suitable scientific payloads, complementing the overall Chandrayaan-1 scientific objectives. Out of the proposals received, six experiments were selected for inclusion in Chandrayaan-1 mission; two of the AO payloads, C1XS and SARA are developed by ESA jointly with ISRO.

The AO payloads Onboard Chandrayaan-1 are:

1.     C1XS : Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) through ESA - a collaboration between Rutherford Appleton Laboratory,UK and ISRO Satellite Centre, ISRO. Part of this payload is redesigned by ISRO to suit Chandrayaan-1 scientific objectives.

2.     SIR2 : Near Infra Red spectrometer (SIR-2) from Max Plank Institute for Solar System Science, through Max-Planck Society, Germany and ESA

3.     SARA : Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyser (SARA) through ESA, from Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Sweden and Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO. The digital processing unit of this payload/ experiment is designed and developed by ISRO, while Swedish Institute of Space Physics develops the payload.

4.     RADOM : Radiation Dose Monitor Experiment (RADOM) from Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

5.     MINI-SAR : Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini-SAR) from Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University and Naval Air Warfare Centre, USA through NASA

6.     M3 : Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) from Brown University and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA through NASA.

Summary of Chandrayaan-1 Prime Science Objectives and Wavelength range coverage

Prime Objectives			Payload
  Search for water-ice			MiniSAR, HEX, SARA
  Chemical Mapping			C1XS, HEX
  Mineralogical Mapping			HySI, SIR-2, M3
  Topography Mapping			LLRI,TMC
  Radiation Environment			RADOM, HEX, C1XS
  Magnetic Field Mapping			SARA
  Volatile Transport			HEX
  Lunar Atmospheric constituent			MIP

चंद्रयान मिशन हुआ समाप्त

• चंद्रमा पर भेजे गए भारत के पहले अंतरिक्ष यान चंद्रयान-1 का नियंत्रण कक्ष से संपर्क टूट गया, और अधिकारियों का कहना है कि चंद्रयान मिशन समाप्त हो गया है.

·         चंद्रयान के प्रोजेक्ट डायरेक्टर एम अन्नादुरै ने 29 अगस्त, 2009 को कहा कि मिशन अब समाप्त हो गया है. चंद्रयान को जो काम करना था उसने पूरा कर दिया था. क़रीब 95 प्रतिशत आँकड़े चंद्रयान भेज चुका है. जो लक्ष्य चंद्रयान को लेकर थे वो लगभग पूरे हो गए हैं  चंद्रयान को चंद्रमा के कक्ष में जाना था, कुछ मशीनरी वहाँ स्थापित करनी थी, भारत का झंडा लगाना था और आँकड़े भेजने थे और चंद्रयान ने इसमें से सारे काम लगभग पूरे कर लिए हैं चंद्रयान ने चंद्रमा की कक्षा में 312 दिन बिताए हैं और बड़ी मात्रा में आँकड़े भी भेजे हैं. 

·         अंतरिक्ष यान चंद्रयान में ख़राबी आने की खबर से भारत के चंद्र अभियान को झटका लगा है.

·          आंध्रप्रदेश की सीमा में स्थित श्रीहरिकोटा के सतीश धवन अंतरिक्ष केंद्र से चंद्रयान को 22 अक्टूबर, 2008 को रवाना किया गया था. भारत चाँद को यान भेजने वाला छठा देश बन गया था. चंद्रयान का उद्देश्य चंद्रमा की सतह के विस्तृत नक्शे और पानी के अंश और हीलियम की तलाश करना था.

Chandrayaan- 2

Chandrayaan-2 Mission Finalised

                        ·               Chandrayaan2, India's second mission to moon, is being targeted for launch during 2013.

·               Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft weighs about 2,650 kg at lift-off of which the orbiter weight is about 1,400 kg and lander weight is about 1,250 kg.

·               Development of the subsystems of the orbiter and the rover is in progress at ISRO centres in Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad.

·               Chandrayaan 2 will have

1.            an orbiter (satellite),      : ISRO

2.            a lander and                  : Russia           

3.            a rover                          : ISRO

·               Chandrayaan-2 is planned to be launched onboard Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

·               The lander will be provided by Russia, the orbiter and the rover are being built by ISRO.

The payloads to be flown onboard Chandrayaan2 (orbiter and rover) have been finalised by a National committee of experts drawn from ISRO centres, academic institutions and R & D laboratories and Chaired by Prof U R Rao, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Space Sciences (ADCOS) and former Chairman of ISRO.

The committee, after detailed deliberations and considering the mission requirements, weight and power available for scientific payloads, has recommended five payloads to be flown on the orbiter of which three are new and two are improved versions of the payloads flown earlier on Chandrayaan1 orbiter. The committee has also recommended two scientific payloads on the rover of Chandrayaan 2. Inclusion of additional payloads, if possible within the mission constraints, will be considered at a later date following a detailed review.

The five recommended payloads of Chandrayaan-2 orbiter are as follows:

1. Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) from ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bangalore and Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM) from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad for mapping the major elements present on the lunar surface.
2. L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) from Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad for probing the first few tens of meters of the lunar surface for the presence of different constituents including water ice. SAR is expected to provide further evidence confirming the presence of water ice below the shadowed regions of the moon.
3. Imaging IR Spectrometer (IIRS) from SAC, Ahmedabad for the mapping of lunar surface over a wide wavelength range for the study of minerals, water molecules and hydroxyl present.
4. Neutral Mass Spectrometer (ChACE2) from Space Physics Laboratory (SPL), Thiruvananthapuram to carry out a detailed study of the lunar exosphere.
5. Terrain Mapping Camera2 (TMC2) from SAC, Ahmedabad for preparing a three-dimensional map essential for studying the lunar mineralogy and geology.

The two scientific payloads on Chandrayaan-2 rover are:

1. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) from Laboratory for Electro Optic Systems (LEOS), Bangalore
2. Alpha Particle Induced X ray Spectroscope (APIXS) from PRL, Ahmedabad.

Both the instruments are expected to carry out elemental analysis of the lunar surface near the landing site.