Chandrayaan or Moon mission - Forum to discuss India's first Moon Mission , Chandrayaan-1 Government of India approved ISRO's proposal for the first Indian Moon Mission, called Chandrayaan-1 in November 2003 .It will take about 5½ days for Chandrayaan-1 to get to the Moon .Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will be in a 100 km polar orbit around the Moon Mission is aimed at high-resolution remote sensing of the Lunar surface in visible, near Infrared, low energy X-rays and high-energy X-ray regions. Mission will test the hypothesis for the origin and early evolutionary history of the moon Mission will carry scientific instruments of European Union and USA as well. Cost of the mission is Rs 386 crore
ISRO to unveil Chandrayaan-1 today India's first unmanned mission to the moon – Chandrayaan–I, will be unveiled by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Thursday. An ISRO official said on the condition of anonymity that October 22 is the first available date for the ambitious launch and the launch window has been fixed for between October 22 and 26. Chandrayaan will then enter the lunar atmosphere on a two-year mission that will include mapping the entire lunar surface in 3D, searching for minerals, and exploring lunar geology, the technology which does not exist today. The spacecraft will however not land on the moon. The nearly 1,400 kg Chandrayaan-I satellite would be launched by the 316-tonne upgraded version of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at the spaceport of Sriharikota. The satellite will take with it high resolution remote sensing equipment for the visible spectrum, near infrared and hard frequencies. ISRO scientists have also placed aboard the spacecraft a moon Impact Probe, a 29kg instrument about twice the size of a shoebox, that will be released to impact onto the moon’s surface after a 20-minute fall. “The impact probe will test small thrust rockets that will be used to slow down the fall. We’ll require this for future soft landings on the moon,†a senior official at Isro said. ISRO is planning to send an unmanned lunar lander in 2012. The estimated cost of the mission is a whopping Rs 386 crore and will include payloads from other international space agencies including NASA as well. ISRO officials said it is an "exceptional example" of international collaboration towards exploring the moon. Scientists plan to communicate with Chandrayaan-1 through a new Rs 100-crore Deep Space Network antenna that has been set up on the outskirts of Bangalore for future missions to the moon and even to other planets. ISRO scientists have tested the Deep Space Network by establishing links to Kaguya, an unmanned Japanese lunar orbiter launched last year. India has seen numerous successes in the recent past with its space programs. On 28th April this year, India created history by launching ten satellites in one go, carrying a payload of 824 kg. India's first fully commercial launch came on 23rd April when the Italian astronomical satellite, AGILE, was sent into space. On January 10th 2007, India launched the PSLV C-7 vehicle, injecting four satellites into orbit. source : Zee News
X-Ray Specs Ready To Eye The Moon A sophisticated X-ray camera made by scientists and engineers from the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is set to launch into space on October 22nd aboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft - India's first mission to the Moon. This is the first time the UK and India have collaborated in space science and the two countries' space agencies will be attending the 59th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) next week (29 September - 3 October), along with space agencies from all over the globe. A replica of the camera will be on display at the IAC. The camera - C1XS - was designed and built at STFC Space Science and Technology Department in the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. It is an X-Ray Spectrometer that will measure X-rays to map the surface composition of the Moon which will help scientists to understand its origin and evolution, as well as quantifying the mineral resources that exist there. Chandrayaan-1 is the first lunar mission from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is designed to orbit the Moon and carries radar and particle detectors as well as instruments that will make observations in the visible, near infrared and X-ray part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Dr Ian Crawford from Birkbeck College, who chairs the C1XS Science Team, said, "There is still a lot we don't know about the Moon. Accurate maps of the surface composition will help us unravel its internal structure and geological history. Among other things this will help us better understand the origin of the Earth-Moon system. We will also be able to learn more about what happened on the Moon since it formed and how and when it cooled. By peering into its craters, we may even be able to see below its crust to the material underneath." C1XS was developed in conjunction with the Indian Space Research Organisation. It employs new technology to make a compact, lightweight, sensitive instrument that can measure the abundances of chemical elements in the lunar surface, by detecting the X-rays they absorb and re-emit. The spectrometer builds on a successful technology demonstration called D-CIXS, which was launched aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Smart-1 mission to the Moon. Prof Manuel Grande, C1XS Principal Investigator, Aberystwyth University, said,"In the UK we are rapidly becoming the world's leading maker of planetary X-ray instruments. C1XS will cement this position, and paves the way for UK leadership of similar instruments at Mercury and elsewhere in the Solar System." C1XS will work by looking at X-rays from the Sun which have been absorbed by atoms in the lunar soil, then re-emitted in such a way as to reveal the chemistry of the surface. The spectrometer is sensitive to magnesium, aluminium and silicon X-rays. When the solar X-ray illumination is bright, for example during a solar flare, it may also be able to make measurements of other elements such as iron, titanium and calcium. To make accurate measurements of the surface elements it is essential to measure the X-rays being produced by the Sun. C1XS has an additional detector system to measure these X-rays called the X-ray Solar Monitor (XSM) which is provided by the University of Helsinki Observatory, Finland. "C1XS uses an advanced version of conventional CCD sensors such as you might find in a digital camera, called swept charge devices. These are mounted behind a gold/copper 'collimator', which limits the field of view of the X-ray detectors to a narrow beam. "Together these two innovations form an X-ray camera that has high resolution allowing identification of the surface elements, yet is far more compact and lower mass than other spacecraft's X-ray spectrometers." Said Chris Howe, C1XS Chief Engineer, from STFC Space Science and Technology Department. Dr Ian Crawford concluded, "There is currently a renaissance in lunar exploration, with many international lunar missions either underway or planned for the next few years, leading up to the planned return of astronauts to the lunar surface by 2020. Through its involvement in C1XS, the UK is playing an important role in this international activity." source : Indo Daily
Chandrayaan-I to begin road journey today India’s Moon mission Chandrayaan-1 begins its road journey on Gandhi Jayanti. A convoy of eight vehicles including a trailer carrying the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will depart from the Isro Satellite Centre on Airport Road early Thursday and arrive at Sriharikota on Friday evening. The convoy will proceed to the Sriharikota launch centre via Kolar, Mulbagal, Palamaner, Gadanki and Kalahasti. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...in_road_journey_today/articleshow/3551119.cms
Chandrayaan-1 launched successfully SRIHARIKOTA: India's historic maiden mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-I, was launched early on Wednesday morning from the mission control room at shriharikota The focus now shifts to the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) at Peenya in Bangalore, which will be the country's nerve-centre for tracking and controlling Chandrayaan-I for the next two years. Peenya will receive the first signals from the spacecraft, when the fourth stage of the rocket separates and injects the spacecraft into Earth's orbit. From the 17th minute to the very last day of the spacecraft's life - two years from now - ISTRAC will be in command. The Deep Space Network (DSN) at Byalalu will join ISTRAC in tracking the spacecraft six hours after take-off. Both DSN and ISTRAC will act as back-up stations for each other, with ISTRAC concentrating on the data flow from the spacecraft, and DSN helping in reception of the radio signals owing to its powerful 32-metre antenna. But ISTRAC will be the primary agency tracking the craft. The control centre at ISTRAC has about 350 people monitoring the health of Indian satellites. source : Times of India
India has created history by joining the elite club of nations who’ve launched unmanned flight to the moon. India will join the US, former USSR, European Space Agency, China and Japan to do so.
All the best ISRO and India Wishing the grand success of chandrayana-1 and wishing further higher growth surpassing all other countries achievements to reach Moon. BEST OF LUCK
Chandrayaan will prove to be a jewel in the crown. It will add the much needed zing to the list which boasts of shining gems. Jai Hind !
World salutes ISRO for launch of maiden lunar mission The US and Europe on Wednesday led the world in hailing the successful launch of India's maiden unmanned mission to Moon saying New Delhi has demonstrated its technological prowess and was emerging as an "ever stronger space power." Shortly after the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft began its historic space odyssey, the scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) were congratulated and applauded for their achievement that catapulted India into an exclusive club of six moon-faring nations. Instruments from the US and Europe are on-board the unmanned spacecraft. "The US congratulates India on the successful launch.This is a proud moment in India history and demonstrates India's technological prowess by joining the international community in the peaceful exploration of space," American Ambassador to India David C Mulford said. Mulford said the US was proud to participate in the mission as the country had provided two instruments for it. "Ahead of today's launch, scientists from the United States worked closely with their Indian partners to prepare the US contribution to the Chandrayan spacecraft, exemplifying the ideals of our bilateral partnership," he said. David Southwood, director of science at the Paris-based European Space Agency (ESA), said the European-made instruments aboard India's moon probe were the hallmark of closer cooperation between the two space powers. "In an era of renewed interest for the Moon on a worldwide scale, the ESA-ISRO collaboration on Chandrayaan-1 is a new opportunity for Europe to expand its competence in lunar science while tightening the long-standing relationship with India -- an ever stronger space power," Southwood said in a statement from Paris. "The entire world is looking at us," said ISRO Chief G Madhavan Nair of the global interest in the mission. source
Chandrayaan-1 nears 75,000 km height, inches closer to Moon source : http://www.ptinews.com/pti\ptisite.nsf/0/45124D0612AC1805652574ED0042D87D?OpenDocument Bangalore, Oct 25 (PTI) India's Chandrayaan-1 has covered 20 per cent of its journey towards Moon as ISRO scientists today performed the second orbit-raising manoeuvre. The lunar spacecraft's on-board 440 Newton Liquid engine was fired for about 16 minutes from 5.48 am. With this engine firing, Chandrayaan-1's apogee (farthest point to earth) has been raised to 74,715 km, while its perigee (closest point to earth) has been raised to 336 km, ISRO spokesperson S Satish said. ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair termed today's orbit-raising operation as "record-breaking". "So far, Indian-made satellites have reached to a height of only 36,000 km. Today's firing has taken Chandrayaan-1 to something like 75,000 km. That's well beyond what we have reached so far. It was a good event, and done precisely," Nair, also secretary in the Department of Space, said. Indicating the complexity of the India's first unmanned lunar mission, he said when the spacecraft is closer to the earth, its gravitational field is well defined and scientists can shape the trajectory. "When you go further and further, earth's influence comes down. Influence of Moon and Sun becomes predominant. Even other planets will have an influence on it," he said. Moon lies at a distance of about 3,84,000 km from earth. ISRO officials said Chandrayaan-1 is expected to settle into lunar orbit, 100 km above Moon, on November 8.
Chandrayaan-1 finds water on Moon n a sensational scientific discovery, India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 has found evidence of water on the moon. "The moon has distinct signatures of water," top American scientist Carle Pieters confirmed Thursday. "The evidence of water molecules on the surface of the moon was found by the moon mineralogy mapper (M3) of the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on board Chandrayaan-1," M3 principal investigator Carle Pieters said in a paper published in the journal Science. M3 was one of the 11 scientific instruments on board the lunar spacecraft that was launched Oct 22, 2008 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission was aborted Aug 30 after Chandrayaan-1 lost radio contact with Earth. Crediting ISRO for its role in the findings, Pieters said: "If it were not for them (ISRO), we would not have been able to make this discovery." ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair had told the media Wednesday that he could not yet confirm the presence of water on the moon, but "before the end of this week, we will let you know". source : http://www.zeenews.com/news565896.html
Chandrayaan finds ice on moon First water, then vapour, now ice. India's Chandrayaan-1, in its most recent lunar mark, has discovered ice in the Moon's craters -- a finding that indicates the presence of as much as 600 million metric tonnes of water ice on the Moon's north pole. The announcement on the breakthrough, with far-reaching consequences for space travel, was made late Monday at the 41st Lunar and Planetary Science Congress organized by the Houston-based Lunar and Planetary Institute. The discovery was made by a Nasa payload on board Chandrayaan-1 called Mini-Sar (miniature synthetic aperture radar), a lightweight instrument that weighs 10 kg. It found more than 40 craters with water ice, the size of the craters ranging between two and 15 kilometres in diameter. Scientists say the discovery of water ice anywhere on the Moon is extremely important because it can serve as a natural resource for astronauts on future lunar landing missions. The ice could be melted into drinking water or be separated into its components of oxygen and hydrogen to provide breathing air and rocket fuel for launching interplanetary missions from the moon. Though the primary role of Mini-Sar was to discover water ice, the other Nasa payload, the Moon Minerology Mapper, beat it, setting off speculation whether Spudis could be upset about this development. Both were on board Chandrayaan-1. Also, though Isro's Moon Impact Probe and Hysi were the first to detect the water molecules, even before the moon minerology mapper, Indian space scientists feel Nasa is claiming credit for India's achievement. Chandrayaan finds ice on moon - India - The Times of India [youtube]8bKNCgllc2A[/youtube]
