Introduction

• The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan is a spacecraft orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014.

• It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) .

• It is India's first interplanetary mission and ISRO has become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space program, NASA, and the European Space Agency.

• It is also the first nation to reach Mars orbit on its first attempt, and the first Asian nation to do so.

Introduction

• The Mars Orbiter Mission probe lifted-off from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket on 5 November 2013. The MOM probe spent about a month in Earth orbit, where it made a series of seven apogee-raising orbital manoeuvres before trans-Mars injection on 30 November 2013.After a 298-day transit to Mars, it was successfully inserted into Mars orbit on 24 September 2014.

• The mission is a "technology demonstrator" project to develop the technologies for design, planning, management, and operations of an interplanetary mission. It carries five instruments that will help advance knowledge about Mars to achieve its secondary, scientific objective.

About ISRO

• ISRO is the primary space agency of the Indian government. Established in 15th august 1969, headquartered in Bengaluru, under the administrative control of the Department of Space, Government of India. Motto “Space Technology in the Service of Human Kind” Launch vehicles: Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV III) Launch facilities: ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore SatishDhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station,Thiruvananthapuram

PSLV

• PSLV was designed and developed at VikramSarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into sun synchronous orbits.

• Launch vehicle used is PSLV-XL PSLV-XL is the updated version of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The PSLV has four stages using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately. It has five successful launch in history

Cost

• The total cost of the mission was approximately 450 Crore (US$73 million),making it the least-expensive Mars mission to date. The low cost of the mission was attributed by K. Radhakrishnan, the chairman of ISRO, to various factors, including a "modular approach", a small number of ground tests and long (18-20 hour) working days for scientists. The Hindu pointed out that the cost was equivalent to less than a single bus ride for each of India's population of 1.2 billion

Objectives

• The primary objective of the Mars Orbiter Mission is to showcase India's rocket launch systems, spacecraft-building and operations capabilities. Specifically, the primary objective is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission, comprising the following major tasks:

1. design and realization of a Mars orbiter with a capability to perform Earth-bound maneuvers, cruise phase of 300 days, Mars orbit insertion / capture, and on-orbit phase around Mars;

2. deep-space communication, navigation, mission planning and management;

3. incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.

4. The secondary objective is to explore Mars' surface features, morphology, mineralogy and Martian atmosphere using indigenous scientific instruments.

Payload

• The 15 kg (33 lb) scientific payload consists of five instruments• Atmospheric studies:

– Lyman-Alpha Photometer (LAP) – a photometer that measures the relative abundance of deuterium and hydrogen from Lyman-alpha emissions in the upper atmosphere. Measuring the deuterium/hydrogen ratio will allow an estimation of the amount of water loss to outer space.

– Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM) – will measure methane in the atmosphere of Mars, if any, and map its sources.

• Particle environment studies:– Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) – is a quadrupole

mass analyser capable of analysing the neutral composition of particles in the exosphere.

• Surface imaging studies:– Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS) – will measure the temperature

and emissivity of the Martian surface, allowing for the mapping of surface composition and mineralogy of Mars.

– Mars Colour Camera (MCC) – will provide images in the visual spectrum, providing context for the other instruments.

Orbit raising manoeuvres

• Orbit trajectory diagram (not to scale).• Several orbit raising operations were conducted from the

Spacecraft Control Centre(SCC) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Peenya, Bangalore on 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 16 November by using the spacecraft's on-board propulsion system and a series of perigee burns. The aim was to gradually build up the necessary escape velocity of 11.2 km/s (7.0 mi/s) to break free from Earth's gravitational pull while minimising propellant use. The first three of the five planned orbit raising manoeuvres were completed with nominal results, while the fourth was only partially successful. However, a subsequent supplementary manoeuvreraised the orbit to the intended altitude aimed for in the original fourth manoeuvre. A total of six burns were completed while the spacecraft remained in Earth orbit, with a seventh burn conducted on 30 November to insert MOM into a heliocentric orbit for its transit to Mars.

Trans-Mars injection

• On 30 November 2013 at 19:19, a 23-minute engine firing initiated the transfer of MOM away from Earth orbit and on heliocentric trajectory toward Mars. The probe travelled a distance of 780,000,000 kilometers (480,000,000 mi) to reach Mars.

• Four trajectory corrections were originally planned, but only three were carried out.

• As observed in April 2014, MOM is following the designed trajectory so closely that the trajectory correction manoeuvre planned in April 2014 was not required.

• The third planned trajectory correction manoeuvre was postponed, due to the orbiter's trajectory closely matching the planned trajectory.

Trans-Mars injection

• The plan was for an insertion into Mars orbit on 24 September 2014, approximately 2 days after the arrival of NASA's MAVEN orbiter. The 440N liquid apogee motor was successfully test fired at 09:00 (14:30 IST) on 22 September for 3.968 seconds, about 41 hours before actual orbit insertion.

• On 24 September 2014, at IST 04:17:32 satellite communication changed over to the medium gain antenna. At IST 06:56:32 forward rotation started and locked the position to fire, at IST 07:14:32 an attitude control manoeuvre took place with the help of thrusters after eclipse started at IST 07:12:19 and LAM (Liquid Apogee Motor) started burning at IST 07:17:32 and ended at IST 07:41:46. After that reverse manoeuvre took place, the spacecraft successfully entered Martian orbit.

Status

• The orbit insertion put MOM in a highly elliptical orbit around Mars, with a period of 72 hours 51 minutes 51 seconds. Commissioning and checkout operations are planned over the coming weeks to prepare MOM's instruments for science operations. At the end of the orbit insertion, MOM was left with 40 kg (88 lb) of fuel as against the 20 kg (44 lb) that was thought necessary for the six-month life span.

• On 28 September 2014, Mars Orbiter Mission published its first global view of Mars. The image was captured by the Mars Colour Camera (MCC).

• On 19 October 2014, the ISRO reported that the Mars Orbiter Mission is healthy after the Comet Siding Spring flyby of Mars earlier that day.

Follow-up mission