India created history on 24 September 2014 by becoming the first country to successfully send a spacecraft into Mars’ orbit on its very first attempt. The mission executed by country’s space agency ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) became successful after the first signal of MOM’s success was confirmed from NASA’s ground station in Canberra, Australia.
With this ISRO became the fourth space agency in the world to reach Mars. The other three agencies are:
a) European Space Agency (ESA) of the European consortium
b) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S.
c) Roscosmos of Russia
India also became the first Asian country to successfully execute a Mars mission.
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and its how it worked :
MOM stands for Mars Orbiter Mission. It is India’s first interplanetary mission. It basically comprised of a 1350-kilogram unmanned robotic satellite that has also been unofficially called – “Mangalyaan” or “Marscraft”. MOM’s dry mass is 500 kg (1,100 lb), and it carries 852 kg (1,878 lb) of fuel and oxidiser. Its main engine, which is a derivative of the system used on India’s communications satellites, uses the bipropellant combination monomethylhydrazine and dinitrogen tetroxide to achieve the thrust necessary for escape velocity from Earth.
MOM commenced its journey to the red planet Mars on 5 November 2013 through a launch from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh. The launch was done through ISRO’s reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C25 rocket.
After going around Earth for 20-25 days in an elliptical orbit, the Rs. 450-crore orbiter began its nine-month long voyage to Mars around 12.42 am on 1 December 2013. On this day MOM ventured out of Earth’s sphere of influence to begin its 300-day journey to Mars. It executed the ‘Trans-Mars Injection’ manoeuvre, in which the Mars Orbiter ‘Mangalyaan’ teared itself away from Earth’s gravitational pull to begin its 680-million Km journey to the red planet. During this manoeuvre, the spacecraft’s 440 Newton liquid engine was fired for about 22 minutes providing a velocity increment of 648 meters/second to the spacecraft.
The MOM finally reached its destination – the Mars orbit on 24 September 2014. The orbiter’s propulsion system, called the Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM), erupted into life at 7.17 a.m. after remaining dormant for 300 days during the spacecraft’s journey to the Red Planet. With this the orbit entered into most crucial manoeuvre called Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI). This meant for lowering the spacecraft into the Martian orbit, with a peri-apsis of 423 km and an apo-apsis of 80,000 km. The manoeuvre ended successfully at 7.41 a.m., thus enabling India to make history.
Main objectives of MOM
– The primary objective of the Mars Orbiter Mission is to showcase India’s rocket launch systems, spacecraft-building and operations capabilities.
– The primary objective is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission, comprising design and realisation of a Mars orbiter with a capability to perform Earth-bound maneuvers, deep-space communication, navigation, mission planning and management and to incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.
Cheapest-ever mission to Mars
– When the MOM successfully entered the orbit of Mars, many across the world were dumbstruck at the low cost of the mission. This golden satellite, approximately the size of a Nano car, and the entire Mars Orbiter mission have been made ready at a record cost of Rs. 450 crore or nearly $67 million dollars. Put together by the ISRO in a record time of 15 months, it has been on a 300-day marathon, covering some 670 million kilometres to reach its destination Mars. This is undoubtedly the lowest-cost inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken in the world. The darling of Martian dreamers — American rover Curiosity which has been sitting on the surface of the Red Planet — cost over a whopping 2 billion dollars.
Prominent recent international missions to Mars
– NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter entered Mars orbit in 2001
– The Mars Express mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) reached Mars in 2003
– NASA twin Mars Exploration Rovers named Spirit (MER-A) and Opportunity (MER-B) landed on the surface of Mars in January 2004
– NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) probe arrived in orbit to conduct a two-year science survey on 10 March 2006
– The Mars Science Laboratory mission was launched on 26 November 2011 and it delivered the Curiosity rover, on the surface of Mars on 6 August 2012.
– NASA’s Maven slipped into Mars’ orbit on 22 September 2014, just two days before ISRO’s MOM. Maven stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN.
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