The five instruments of Mangalyaan

ISRO's Mangalyaan has five main instruments on it. Read on to know what their specific role is...

First instrument -  Mars Colour Camera (MCC) will provide images of the planet's surface features and weather patterns such as dust storms. It will also capture images of the red planet's two moons - Phobos and Deimos.

Second instrument - Methane Sensor (MS) will look for the gas in the Martian atmosphere, which could be an indication if life can be sustained on the planet

Third instrument - Mars Exosphere Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) will study neutral gas atoms found in the outermost part of the Martian atmosphere.

Fourth instrument - Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP) will measure relative abundance of two isotopes of hydrogen

 

Fifth instrument - Thermal Infrared Imagery Spectrometer (TIIS) will map the surface temperature to understand the composition and mineralogy of Mars.

The spacecraft will take 77 hours or 3.2 earth days for each rotation around Mars at a distance of 500 km closest and over 80,000 km farthest from its surface.