The 1,380 kg Chandrayaan-1 has been successfully put into Transfer Orbit around the earth by the rocket. The Indian space craft is carrying 11 payloads. Out of these, five are designed and developed indigenously in India, three from European Space Agency, one from Bulgaria and two from the US. These probes will explore the Moon over the next two years.
Putting the craft in the Transfer Orbit is the first step. It will take at least two weeks for the Indian scientists to take the craft into Lunar Orbit. The craft will take several revolutions around the earth to gain enough momentum to cover some 4 lakh km and reach the Moon. Once the craft reaches close to the Moon, it will be captured by the gravity of the heavenly object. There the craft will start revolving around the Moon just the way satellites revolve around the earth. The craft will revolve around the Moon at the height of 100 km from the surface.
One of the primary objectives of the mission is to map the surface of the Moon. Till date, the images of certain specific regions of the Moon available are of low resolution. The Indian mission carries imaging systems which will further enhance the quality of the images manifold. Thus, it would be a picture-perfect Moon.
The craft will be controlled by scientists in India. Imagine instructing and controlling a satellite hovering around the Moon, some odd 4 km away? To effectively communicate with the craft, scientists have set up a 60 tons antenna at a small village called Bylalu near Bengaluru. Bylalu will be the point of contact for the India's presence on the Moon.
The Moon has always been an object of attraction for writers, and science fiction has a special place for the Moon. "India's quest to conquer the Moon has started. This is a proud moment for all of us. More than 100 years ago, in 1900 one of the most famous literary magazines of that time published a science fiction story Chandralok Ki Yatra (Journey To Moon) by Babu Keshav Prasad Singh. The achievement of ISRO is like realisation of that dream. It also indicates that there is nothing as impossible for humans to realise their dreams. This mission has earned more respect amongst the 'space' community of the planet. We congratulate all the scientists associated with the project," says Dr Arvind Mishra, secretary, Indian Science Fiction Writers' Association.
Electronics For You congratulates the team which made this dream possible. See you on Mars next! |
We the INDIANS are truly proud of ISRO's achievement. Let Mother India bless all of ISRO team and make them to strive success in new heights...
