ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) has lost contact with India’s first moon mission, the Chandrayaan-I. With that India’s first moon mission has come to a premature end. Chandrayaan was launched on 22 October 2008 using a PSLV. Chandrayaan-I was carrying 11 scientific instruments on board, among which, 6 were foreign. It was expected to send data about moon for about two years, but it has ended in just about 10 months.

Though the mission has ended prematurely, majority of the scientific objectives have been achieved, claims ISRO. It has sent many high resolution images of lunar surface and craters. The data will help ISRO in better understanding of the lunar environment.

The mission is not a complete failure as it not only has sent many detailed pictures on moon but has also given ISRO valuable experience in space flight which will prove critical as ISRO is aiming to land Chandrayaan-II on moon in a few years time.

WOW! I have never felt so much pride in being an Indian while writing a post. The feeling I have is shared by millions of Indians around the globe.

India’s maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-I was launched successfully from Srijarikota today. The PSLV-C11 rocket was fired at exactly 0622 IST (0052 UTC).

Chandrayaan was blasted into space by highly reliable 4 stage PSLV-C11 rocket. The space craft carries 11 scientific instruments, 5 Indian and 6 foreign which will make a detailed 3D map of lunar surface as well as look for presence of water,minerals and a rare isotope Helium-3 which could be the answer to the ever increasing energy needs of our planet. It will make the most detailed maps of moon.

Soon after PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch vehicle) successfully placed Chandrayaan-I into the orbit around the earth, all the scientists who worked non-stop exulted in joy,thumping their chests with pride and congratulated each other. The whole nation was doing the same and salutes its true heroes. ISRO chief  G Madhavan Nair said “This is a historic moment for India. We’ve started our journey to the moon and and the first leg of the journey has gone remarkably well”.

Chandrayaan-I will take another 5 and a half days to reach the moon where it will orbit it for 2 years and send valuable data. It will also send a “Moon impactor” probe to the surface of the moon which will evaluate the surface of the moon. This probe is painted with Indian tri color, so if this probe reaches the surface safely, India will only be the fourth country to place their national flag on the lunar surface. Earlier US, Russia, Japan have achieved this feat. India has also joined US, China, japan, ESA, Russia in the list of countries/agencies capable of sending missions to moon.

Chandrayaan-I’s cost is $83 million, much more cost efficient than any other nation.

But even this appears sore to some eyes. There are a few negative arguements as well:

1. Some people are talking whether the space mission was at all required in a poverty ridden country like India where billions live below poverty line? For non-Indians giving this arguement, weell, you have half (not full because your reason does not purely sound a result of jealousy and you show your concern for the poor. What have you/your nation done to help the poor BTW) my middle finger as an answer. If you are an Indian thinking the same,read on the next para.

Well, first things first, it is because of Indian scientists we have been able to achieve this goal. Had it been in control of our politicians, rest assured, we would have gone no where. Agreed,that this mission was approved by government,but this mission could have been achieved much earlier also. Our scientists have the will power, skills and intelligence to power a challenging mission like this and beyond (manned missions). It is also true that our leaders have to heavily debate every project as India is a democracy. But, i doubt that if the space endeavours are cancelled, the money alloted to them will bring any good to the poor in the country.Thanks to our politicians.They are just too currupt and greedy.Heck most of the money alloted to MP’s and MLA’s for improving their constituency goes whoosh. Also, the project has long term advantages.It has exploration of Helium-3 as one of its objectives which could help India satisfy its energy needs in the future. If we had not started with Aryabhatta back in 1975, we would not have been where we stand today. If we had thought Aryabhatta will do us no good and lets get rid of poverty first, we would have been light years behind other countries. Because of those small initial steps, we today in space have an array of remote sensing,educational,communication and defense satellites. And those satellites paved way for discoveringing hidden resources, exploit them better. We today launch satellites commercially.We have to sow the seeds now to reap benefits from them tomorrow. Chandrayaan-I is today as Aryabhatta was in 1975, a small stepping stone to sucess for future missions.

2. Another question being raised is “Bah! This was done by US/USSR 50 years ago,so its not much of an achievement”.

Well,if you say this then you have my full middle finger as an answer. When India announced plans for Chandrayaan-I, people were questioning India’s capability altogether,if India is indeed capable of undertaking such technologically challenging missions? many eyes were suspicious. Now when we have done it, you say its not much of an achievement! Ever heard of “foot-in-mouth-disease”? Also if it is not much of an achievement, why only 5 countries were able to accomplish this before Chandrayaan?

Chandrayaan is not just a chest thumping issue for India as it was for US/USSR when they indulged in space race propelled by the cold war to put the first man on moon. Chandrayaan intends to make more detailed maps of moon. It will only benefit mankind,so why all these lame arguements. Chandrayaan-I has 6 international probe aboard,all included free of cost, so instead of reaping benefits from Chandrayaan why are we still raising eyebrows on a supposedly third world country for launching its moon mission? India has time and again proved that it is arriving at the global stage like never before. Why ignore it? What is the need for doing so?

One more question on a rather neutral tone possible is, why moon? Why not Mars?Or atleast a manned mission?

Well, you need to grow steady.  India so far had only launched satellites into the Earth’s orbit. We had not ventured beyond Earth’s orbit. So we had to fist make a stop at the next higher level before going further. Who says it would have been wise attempting a direct manned landing on moon in 2020 without a dress rehearsal?  You need to have an expirience,expertise for every level and Chandrayaan-I will provide that for Chandrayaan-II and other missions. US and USSR have already learnt it, but we still are learing it so that we can send our man using this expirience.

I was obviously glued to my television screen from the morning as you know i just could not have afford to miss it.But i was surprised on finding many people were just not bothered to check it and were sleeping at the launch time(it was 0620 local time you see).

Congrats to all the frontline personnels and those beind the scenes who worked so hard. Project incharge, M. Anadurai does not even have an air conditioned office, but he and other people have done every Indian proud. The nation salutes you all.

Here is a video of the launch in case you were not able to catch it LIVE.

Jai Hind

The day is here. Years of hard work is about to pay off. India is all set to launch its first ever unmanned moon mission tomorrow.

Chandrayaan-I will be launched tomorrow, i.e. 22 October 2008 at 0620 hrs IST (0050 hrs GMT) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The probe will be set on a journey towards moon where it will collect useful data about the natural satellite of the earth. The long journey of 3,86,000 kms is expected to take about 5 and a half days.

Chandrayaan-I will be carried into space by India’s reliable rocket PSLV-C11 (Polar Satellite Launch Vahicle) which has in the past successfully launched many Indian and foriegn satellites into the orbit. Chandrayaan-I will revolve for around 2 years around the moon at an altitude of nearly 100kms and take high resolution 3D images of the lunar surface and try to find possible mineral deposits as well as traces of water. It will also look for presence of a rare isotope Helium-3, which can be very  useful in solving the energy riddle of our planet. The spacecraft translated into “Lunar Craft” (Chandra=lunar/moon and yaan= craft/vehicle) will carry a payload of 590kg which includes 5instruments from ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and 6of other space agencies including NASA, ESA(European Space Agency).

This is the description of the spacecraft as given on the ISRO site:

Spacecraft for lunar mission is :

• Cuboid in shape of approximately 1.50 m side.
• Weighing 1304 kg at launch and 590 kg at lunar orbit.
• Accommodates eleven science payloads.
• 3-axis stabilized spacecraft using two star sensors, gyros and four reaction wheels.
• The power generation would be through a canted single-sided solar array to provide required power during all phases of the mission. This deployable solar array consisting of a single panel generates 700W of peak power. Solar array along with yoke would be stowed on the south deck of the spacecraft in the launch phase. During eclipse spacecraft will be powered by Lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries.
• After deployment the solar panel plane is canted by 30º to the spacecraft pitch axis.
• The spacecraft employs a X-band, 0.7m diameter parabolic antenna for payload data transmission. The antenna employs a dual gimbal mechanism to track the earth station when the spacecraft is in lunar orbit.
• The spacecraft uses a bipropellant integrated propulsion system to reach lunar orbit as well as orbit and attitude maintenance while orbiting the moon.
• The propulsion system carries required propellant for a mission life of 2 years, with adequate margin.
• The Telemetry, Tracking & Command (TTC) communication is in S-band frequency.
• The scientific payload data transmission is in X-band frequency.
• The spacecraft has three Solid State Recorders (SSRs) on board to record data from various payloads.
• SSR-1 will store science payload data and has capability of storing 32Gb data.
• SSR-2 will store science payload data along with spacecraft attitude information (gyro and star sensor), satellite house keeping and other auxiliary data. The storing capacity of SSR-2 is 8Gb.
• M3 (Moon Mineralogy Mapper) payload has an independent SSR with 10Gb capacity.

Chandrayaan

The cost of Chandrayaan-I mission is estimated to be around $83 million.

So why all the fuss about Chandrayaan when US and USSR did this almost half a century ago? Well, a space mission is something to do with national pride as well. Indians will be proud to find themselves in the elite club of nations/space agencies who have achieved this incredible feat. The list as of now includes USA,Russia,China,Japan,ESA. Its not that difficult to understand what it takes to stand in that list which also does not includes many of the far more developed countries than India. It only re establishes the excellence of Indian minds and justifies why there is a demand for Indian brain worldwide. It re affirms India’s rise as a global super power not only economically but also technologically and millitarily. India’s inclusion will only heat up the space race in Asia. India will be seen as a more reliable option for countries wanting to place their satellites into the space but lacking the ability to do so. Not to forget, India’s space programme also has applications in improving the country’s defence. PSLV, the rocket developed by ISRO will be the base of Agni-V, India’s first ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistic Missile) with a range of 5000kms which is expected to be tested towards the end of 2010.

That gives you enough reasons to rejoice if you are an Indian. But at the same time, we should not forget we do not stop here. Though that is the last thing on ISRO’s agenda right now. ISRO is planning another mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-II, which will attempt to land on the moon. Chandrayaan-II will be launched between 2010-2012. ISRO also plans a manned lunar mission by 2020 and a unmanned mission to Mars. Way to go ISRO.

An ESA video on Chandrayaan-I:

All the very best to all the scientists working for the project. You guys deserve it.

Images from ISRO website and here