Chandrayaan-I another step closer to moon

Chandrayaan I, India’s spacecraft which is to take off for the moon, is on its way to SHAR, ie, Sriharikota Range, to be integrated with PSLV-C11. The 50-hour countdown to the launch of Chandrayaan will start on the night of October 19.

At Sriharikota, Chandrayaan will be put through its paces on the ground. Indian Satellite Research Organisation (Isro) scientists will check how its solar panels will deploy. It will also undergo electrical and mechanical tests. Chandrayaan had earlier undergone preliminary thermal and vibration tests at Isro Satellite Centre (ISAC) in Bangalore.

For security threats arising from Naxalites and other possible extremist attacks, the exact location of Chandrayaan is being kept under wraps even as it is being provided tightest possible security, according to sources in Isro. Chandrayaan is expected to reach SHAR in a day or two.

The upgraded version of PSLV, PSLV-C11, which has a lift-off weight of 316 tonnes, will be used to inject the 1,304-kg mass spacecraft into a 240 x 24,000 km orbit.

The main objective of Chandrayaan-I is investigation of the distribution of various minerals and chemical elements and high-resolution three-dimensional mapping of the entire lunar surface. ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will launch Chandrayaan-I into a 240 km x 24,000 km earth orbit. Subsequently, the spacecraft’s own propulsion system will be used to place it in a 100-km polar orbit around the moon.

M Annadurai, project chief, Chandrayaan, had said earlier: “This will be the first step towards our manned mission to the moon.”

The remote sensing satellite will weigh 1,304 kg (590 kg initial orbit mass and 504 kg dry mass) and carry high-resolution remote sensing equipment for visible, near infrared, soft and hard X-ray frequencies. Over its expected lifetime of two years, it will survey the lunar surface and produce a map of its chemical characteristics and three-dimensional topography.

The project, expected to cost Rs 386 crore, will study the surface of the moon using light. Many other countries are also looking at the possibility of mining the abundant mineral resources on the moon.