The moon is no longer a destination which can only be imagined; there have been several manned and unmanned missions to the moon. But what is differentiating about this mission we are talking about is that it has been carried out exclusively by Indian scientists working for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and has been aptly named as the Chandrayaan 1.
There are several objectives which this mission aims to complete such as creating a three dimensional atlas of the near and far sides of the moon apart from doing the chemical and mineralogical mapping of the surface as well. There are
various payloads on the Chandrayaan which would help achieve its mission and they include:
Terrain mapping stereo camera
- Hyper spectral imaging camera
- Lunar laser ranging instrument
- High energy X-ray spectrometer
- Moon impact probe
- Chandrayaan 1 X-ray spectrometer
- Near infrared spectrometer
- Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer
- Radiation Dose Monitor Experiment
- Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar
- Moon Mineralogy Mapper
Out of these payloads the first five have been developed in the home country while others belong to different space organizations such as the ESA and NASA. The combination of these payloads would be utilized to study the moon and achieve the above mentioned objectives.
The dimensions of the spacecraft are those of a cuboid of nearly 1.5 meters, and the mission consists of a lunar orbiter as well as an impacter. Polar Spacecraft Launch Vehicle has been used in the launch of the satellite from the town of Sriharikota in India and the mission duration is of two years during which all these studies will be completed.
The power of the satellite comes from the solar panel which is capable of generating 750 watts of power.
Future Plans
As usual the scientists never rest on their laurels and the second part of the mission also being planned to be completed within 2-3 years of the first launch. Logically the second mission would be named as Chandrayaan II and it plans to carry a motorized rover to the moon next time. It is hoped that with the passage of time more knowledge is obtained via such missions which helps to uncover the very own mystery of existence of life in the universe.
Image of Chandrayaan 1 Mission - Courtesy ISRO