Mangalyaan passes crucial test for entering red planet's orbit

The firing of the main liquid engine will enable the insertion of the Mangalyaan into Martian orbit on September 24

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) on Monday successfully completed the crucial fourth trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM) and the test firing of the main liquid engine on the spacecraft, Mangalyaan.

TCM was also configured for verifying the performance of the main liquid engine to determine the strategy for the Mars orbit insertion on Wednesday.

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)’s Chairman K Radhakrishnan told Business Standard: “The test firing performed as expected and the spacecraft is in good health. Our confidence level has gone up to successfully conduct the Mars orbit insertion on September 24 (Wednesday).”

SUCCESS IN SPACE

• India is set to become the first country to successfully send its spacecraft into Mars orbit on its maiden mission
• India will also become the first Asian country and ISRO the fourth space agency to send a satellite to the red planet
• European, US and Russian probes have managed to orbit or land on the planet, but after several attempts

Isro said, “The test firing is successful and we had a perfect burn for four seconds as programmed. The trajectory has been corrected. MOM will now go ahead with the nominal plan for the orbit insertion.” Isro officials have said the mission is nearing complete success.

According to scientists, MOM reached the Martian neighbourhood. Their calculations showed that MOM has entered the gravitational sphere of Mars, with a radius of 0.58 million km. After the entry into Martian gravitational sphere, pyro valves were opened in the MOM. These propellant lines are enabled for orbit insertion, and these exclusive lines create a fresh path for propellants to reach the main liquid engine.

Now, that the spacecraft entered the Mars’ influence, its velocity has to be controlled so that it does not escape the planet’s influence, said officials, adding, the spacecraft is scheduled to enter the orbit insertion at 7.30 am (Indian standard time) on Wednesday.

If the orbit is carried out successfully on Wednesday, India will be the first country to send spacecraft to the red planet in the first attempt. Only 21 of 51 Mars missions have been successful so far.

MOM had left the Earth’s orbit on December 1 last year and began its historic voyage to put India on the list of elite nations that have undertaken missions to Mars. This is India’s first interplanetary mission and was launched by using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.