Introduction
Space missions have become a sensation and a matter of national pride for India. In the recent past, the country has etched itself into the top tier of nations make the most of their rocket and satellite technology. India first established its space programme half a century ago after developing its own rocket technology following the decision by Western powers to impose sanctions for its 1974 nuclear weapons test. Planet Mars, also known as the Red Planet, has long captivated the curiosity of humans more than any other planet in the solar system. This is especially because of the belief in the scientific realms of the possibility of conditions supportive of life on the planet as is the case on Earth. The atmosphere, geology, ice and water on the Red Planet interact to bring about a dynamic Martian environment similar to Earth. Humans have for a long time speculated about life on Mars, inspiring space missions to orbit or land on Mars by such developed nations like the United States, European Union, Russia and most recent, India. Until the launch of the Indian first mission to Mars, there have been as many as 51 such missions to the Red Planet, with a modest 21 successful ones. The question still lingers as to the presence of a biosphere on Mars or whether the planet ever had a Martian environment that supported life.
India’s Mars Orbiter (Mangalyaan) Mission
India has fascinated about Mars since ancient times as evidenced by the principal Indian languages referring to the Red Planet as Mangala, Angaraka and Kuja, which translate into auspicious, burning coal and the fair one respectively (Lele, 2013). Mars is said to a god of war. On 5 November 2013, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched its first interplanetary mission to planet Earth, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also known as ‘Mangalyaan’. PSLV-C25, the launch vehicle, successfully injected the Mangalyaan Spacecraft into Elliptical Parking Orbit around the Earth in a near perfect lauch. It marked the 25th successful space mission to be undertaken by the PSLV rocket, a development of ISRO. The control center of the orbiter is at the Bangalore-based tracking centre ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Lele, 2013).
The Manglyaan spacecraft making its maiden orbit around the earth marked the beginning of a 300-day trip to the Red Planet. The orbiter has a total weight of about 1,350 kg and the main objective of the space mission is development of technologies necessary for designing, planning, managing and operating an interplanetary mission. Therefore, from a technological perspective, ISRO hopes that the Indian mission to the Red Planet will significantly help in design as well as realization of a Mars orbiter with ability to both survive and undertake Earth-bound explorations, 300-day cruise phase, Mars orbit capture/insertion, together with on-orbit cycle around Mars (Lele, 2013). The mission will also explore the possibilities of deep space communication, mission planning and control, navigation, and integrate autonomous elements to handle contingency planning. India’s mission to Mars is basically a technological space mission in view of the critical mission operations along with other bus systems of the Manglyaan spacecraft. It has designed to undertake exploration of physical aspects of Mars and limited study of the Martian atmosphere with a total of five payloads authorized by Advisor Committee on Space Sciences (ADCOS) (Lele, 2013).
The ISRO’s scientific objectives of the mission are to explore Mars surface elements, Martian atmosphere, morphology and mineralogy. The objective of studying the planet’s surface, its mineral composition, sniffing the Mars surface for methane gas (a chemical known to support life on Earth). This effectively put the country way ahead of its rival Asian giant China. With this space mission, India has embarked on a space mission that promises to position India as a major, budget player in the current and future global space race (Lele, 2013). If everything goes to plan, the Indian spacecraft would orbit the red planet by 24 September 2014, making India to join the small elite group of nations that have either orbited or landed on Mars: the United States, European Union, and the Soviet Union.
The Indian maiden inter-planetary satellite was specifically built for the Mars mission by indigenous team of scientists. The under $73 million (£45m), or an equivalent of about a fifth of what previous Mars missions by other countries have cost, was a combined effort of India’s leading infrastructure company Larsen & Tourbo, one of India’s biggest conglomerates Godrej & Boyce, state-run aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, and Walchand Nagar Industries (Lele, 2013). These key players developed more than two thirds of the spacecraft parts for the probe as well as the rocket. The spacecraft will travel about 680km (422 miles) until it reaches its target in September 2014.
Prior to the November 5 “slingshot”, India’s probe had already successfully completed a total of six orbits around Earth before setting on a path around the sun to propel it towards Mars. The slingshot required precise calculations to avoid risk of missing out on the new orbit. India’s space agency had to make several mid-course corrections so as to successfully enter Mars orbit, a fete that proved a failure for the 2003 Japan’s probe that encountered electrical faults as it approached the planet. The spacecraft had to be slowed down when it came close to Mars so as to catch the orbit but enter it just before the planet was in the field of view. According to the head of the Indian Space Research Organization, Dr. K Radhakrishnan, the operation to leave orbit was a major success (Lele, 2013). Since the November 5 launch, the Indian spacecraft has consistently raised its orbit around the Earth through a series of engine burns. With the exception of the fourth maneuver carried out on November 11 in which there was an issue with the liquid fuel thruster forcing the Mangalyaan to fall short of its mark, all maneuvers were successful.
The Indian mission to Mars bears a number of similar scientific objectives with the planned American Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission (Maven) to be launched shortly after the launch of Mangalyaan. On both the Indian and American spacecraft, sensors are designed to study processes responsible for drastic thinning of the Martian Atmosphere, believed to have been thick enough at one time to sustain liquid water on the planet’s surface (Lele, 2013). The Indian orbiter is designed to have a useful life period of at least six months orbiting around Mars. On completion of the mission, the orbiter would not be let to crash on the planet as its sufficient propellant would take it away from the Martian environment.
Conclusion
The Indian mission is of matter of great national pride considering that Indians have always decried their country’s dysfunction, antiquated industrial processes, inadequate infrastructure, as well as uneven manufacturing record. With the successful launch and sustenance of the Mangalyaan mission, India has rose to the challenge and delivered. However, it is too premature to declare success remembering that India’s lunar mission five years ago evoked such feeling of national pride among Indians only to fail to meet its objective of exploring the moon for two years when the spacecraft was lost only after 312 days. Considering that 30 of the previous 51 Mars missions have failed, success of the Mangalyaan would signify a significant advance for humanity while failure would serve a useful learning experience for Indian scientists.
Reference:
Lele, Ajey. (2013). Mission Mars: India’s Quest for the Red Planet. Springer Verlag.
