ISRO’s Mangalyaan mission completes 8 years in orbit
Recently the Mangalyaan mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has completed 8 years in orbit.
- The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan was launched in the year 2013. This was ISRO’s first spacecraft to Mars.
- Mangalyaan successfully entered the orbit of Mars in the year 2014. With this achievement, ISRO became the fourth space agency in the world to do so.
- Before India, only the United States, the Soviet Union and the European Space Agency (ESA) have achieved such success.
- Mangalyaan was launched from the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSIV C-25).
- Instruments included in Mangalyaan are: Mars Color Camera, Methane Sensor for Mars, Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer etc.
Objectives of Mangalyaan-
- Explore the Martian surface features, minerals, topography and atmosphere using indigenous scientific instruments.
- Develop technologies needed to plan, design, manage and conduct missions to another planet.
Key studies of Mangalyaan-
- It has helped in preparing the atlas of Mars.
- It has been prepared based on the images provided by the orbiter. So far, the Mars Color Camera (MCC) orbiter has sent thousands of images totaling two terabytes.
- It has sent close-range photos of the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos.
- It has been discovered that dust storms on Mars can rise up to hundreds of kilometers.
Other Mars Mission-
- China: Tianwen 1 (Mars Orbiter) and Jurong (Mars Rover)
- United States: Mars Pathfinder, Mars Odyssey, Mars Exploration Rover-Opportunity, Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover
- European Space Agency: Mars Express, ExoMars (with Russia)
- United Arab Emirates: Hope Orbiter
Source – The Hindu
