Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan

Why in news?

• The ISRO confirmed that the Mars Orbiter craft has lost communication with ground stations and the Mangalyaan mission has attained end-of-life.

About Mangalyaan Mission:

• Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) also known as Mangalyaan Mission is a space probe orbiting Mars by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• It is India's first interplanetary mission and made fourth space agency to achieve Mars orbit, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
• It made India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt
• MOM is the cheapest Interplanetary Space Mission  in the world. The cost of this mission was USD74 million

Objectives:

• Exploration of Mars surface features by studying the morphology, topography and mineralogy
• Study the constituents of Martian atmosphere including methane and CO2 using remote sensing techniques
• Study the dynamics of the upper atmosphere of Mars, effects of solar wind and radiation and the escape of volatiles to outer space

Launch Vehicle & LaunchPad:

• Mars Orbiter Mission was launched with the help of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-25.
  • PSLV C-25 is an XL version of the PSLV launch vehicle.
• This mission was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, of Andhra Pradesh in 2013.

Add ons:

• It is the 1st Indian spacecraft to survive the Van Allen Raditions Belt, by crossing it 39 times.
  • A Van Allen radiation belt is a zone of energetic charged particles, most of which originate from the solar wind, that are captured by and held around a planet by that planet’s magnetic field.
  • There are two such concentric tire-shaped regions. The inner belt is 1–2 Earth radii out while the outer belt is at 4–7 Earth radii.
  • By trapping the solar wind, the belts deflect the energetic particles and protect the atmosphere.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan:

1. It was launched aboard GSLV

2.One of its objective includes study of Martian atmosphere using remote sensing techniques

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer