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Chandrayaan I (22 Oct 2008)
On 22 October 2008, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 (meaning moon craft) using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The National Lunar Mission Task Force set up by ISRO enquired and concluded that ISRO had the capability to carry out an Indian mission to the moon. In late 2003, governmental nod was given for the mission.
The probe weighed 1304 kg at launch and 590 kg at lunar orbit.
The mission entered into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008. It was orbiting the moon at a distance of 100 km from the lunar surface.
The purpose of the mission was chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the moon.
Chandrayaan-1 carried 11 scientific instruments built in India, USA, Germany, UK, Sweden and Bulgaria. Five of these instruments were built in India.
The mission made more than 3400 orbits around the moon.
The mission sent back to earth 70000 images of the lunar surface. The mission sent its first image of the entire earth on 25 March 2009.
These images were captured by the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) which was one of the scientific payloads of the mission.
The mission also carried a Moon Impact Probe (MIP) whose purpose was to crash land on the lunar surface and send information that would help in preparing a rover to land on the surface in a future mission.
The MIP was successfully deployed and data received from it confirmed the presence of water on the moon’s surface.
Chandrayaan has confirmed the magma ocean hypothesis which implies that the moon was completely molten once.
The mission also detected titanium, confirmed the presence of calcium and also acquired the most accurate measurements of iron, aluminium and magnesium on the moon.
The TMC also captured images of the landing site of the U.S. spacecraft Apollo 15.
Scientists from ISRO and other participating agencies have termed the mission a success with 90% of the stated objectives being seen through.
The estimated project cost was Rs.386 Crore or US$60 million.
Although the mission was intended to last for two years, it ended on 28 August 2009 when communications to the probe was lost suddenly. The probe lasted for 312 days or 10 months and 6 days.
Some of the chief scientists involved in this project were:
- G Madhavan Nair – the then Chairman of ISRO
- T K Alex – Director, ISRO Satellite Centre
- Mylswamy Annadurai – Project Director of Chandrayaan-1
- K. Radhakrishnan – the then Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
Awards received by Chandrayaan-1:
- AIAA SPACE 2009 Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
- International Cooperation Award 2008 from the International Lunar Exploration Working Group for accommodating the most number of international lunar payload ever (from 20 countries)
- 2009 Space Pioneer Award from the USA-based National Space Society
In March 2017, the ‘lost’ Chandrayaan-1 was found still in the lunar orbit some 200 km from the lunar surface by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California.
India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2 is slated to be launched into orbit on 15 July 2019 (date postponed).
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