IASNOVA
GSLV-Mk III / Chandrayaan-2 Mission
Chandrayaan-2 launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket on July 22, 2019.
Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the Moon is a totally indigenous mission comprising of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover. After reaching the 100 km lunar orbit, the Lander housing the Rover was to separate from the Orbiter. After a controlled descent, the Lander had to soft land on the lunar surface at a specified site and deploy a Rover.
The mission carried a six-wheeled Rover- PRAGYAN (wisdom in Sanskrit) which was to move around the landing site in semi-autonomous mode as decided by the ground commands. The instruments on the rover would observe the lunar surface and send back data, which would have been useful for analysis of the lunar soil.The mission would have focussed on the lunar surface, searching for water and minerals and measuring moonquakes, among other things.
The Chandrayaan-2 weighing around 3290 kg and would orbit around the moon and perform the objectives of remote sensing the moon. The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.
But-
A last-minute software glitch led to the failure of the Chandrayaan 2 mission. Vikram Lander crash-landed on the moon’s surface after its guidance software went kaput, according to an internal report presented to the Space Commission.The Indian Space Research Organisaiton (ISRO) designed Chandrayaan 2 to soft-land a probe on the moon, but the Vikram Lander lost control 500m short of the lunar surface and crashed.
List Of Instruments on the Orbiter
- Terrain Mapping Camera 2 (TMC-2), which will map the lunar surface in three dimensions using two on-board cameras. A predecessor instrument called TMC flew on Chandrayaan-1.
- Collimated Large Array Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS), which will map the abundance of minerals on the surface. A predecessor instrument called CIXS (sometimes written as C1XS) flew on Chandrayaan-1.
- Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM), which looks at emissions of solar X-rays.
- Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer (ChACE-2), which is a neutral mass spectrometer. A predecessor instrument called CHACE flew on Chandrayaan-1’s Moon Impact Probe.
- Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which will map the surface in radio waves. Some of its design is based on Chandrayaan-1’s MiniSAR.
- Imaging Infra-Red Spectrometer (IIRS), which will measure the abundance of water/hydroxl on the surface.
- Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) to examine the surface, particularly the landing site of the lander and rover.
Achievements of Chandrayaan 2- till August 20,2020
- Chandrayaan-2 has mapped nearly 1.5 million square miles (4 million square kilometers) of terrain.
- One area of interest was the Balmer-Kapteyn basin region, which includes a “light plains” deposit of lunar soil, or regolith, on top of an older, basaltic surface.
- Chandrayaan-2 also spotted small-scale tectonic landforms called lunar lobate scarps.
- Regularly gathers high-definition imagery and science data concerning the moon’s surface, which assist in interpreting geologic features — as well as in figuring out future landing spots for anyone designing a lunar mission.
- Orbital radars on Chandrayaan-2 are continuing to gather observations of lunar water ice at the poles — a possible resource for future missions.
- Other investigations the spacecraft has performed include detecting signatures of argon-40 (confirming observations during the Apollo moon program of the 1960s and 1970s) and mapping the mineralogy of certain regions of the moon, such as Mare Tranquillitatis, an area that includes the first human moon landing site, where Apollo 11 touched down in 1969.
- Chandrayaan-2 even indirectly monitors solar activity, providing additional observations for scientists trying to figure out how space weather affects Earth.
- Chandrayaan-2 captures image of crater on moon-ISRO names it after Vikram Sarabhai.
GAGANYAAN MISSION
– ISRO & ROSCOSMOS( Russia) to work together on the project
– India’s 1st manned space mission
– 3 humans will be sent into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by 2022
– For 5-7 days
– 3 astronauts will conduct experiments on microgravity in space
– Only 3 nations have sent humans into space till date- USA, Russia and China
– Rs. 10,000-crore mission will be a turning point in India’s space journey.
– Isro has developed some critical technologies like re-entry mission capability, crew escape system, crew module configuration, thermal protection system, deceleration and flotation system, sub-systems of life support system required for Mission Gaganyaan.
Mangalyaan
– The Mars Orbiter Mission / Mangalyaan is a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO
– It is India’s first interplanetary mission.
– It made India the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
– It is the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, and the first nation in the world to do so in its first attempt.
– The mission is a “technology demonstrator” project to develop the technologies for designing, planning, management, and operations of an interplanetary mission. It carries five instruments that will help advance knowledge about Mars to achieve its secondary, scientific objective. The spacecraft is currently being monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru with support from the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) antennae at Byalalu, Karnataka.
Aditya-L1
Aditya-L1 is a spacecraft whose mission is to study the Sun. It was conceptualised by the Advisory Committee for Space Research in January 2008.It has been designed and will be built in collaboration between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and various Indian research organizations and will be launched by ISRO around 2021 .
The scope of the mission has since been expanded and it is now planned to be a comprehensive solar and space environment observatory to be placed at the Lagrangian point L1.
Lagrangian Point
Lagrangian points are the points near two large bodies in orbit where a smaller object will maintain its position relative to the large orbiting bodies. At other locations, a small object would go into its own orbit around one of the large bodies, but at the Lagrangian points the gravitational forces of the two large bodies, the centripetal force of orbital motion, and (for certain points) the Coriolis acceleration all match up in a way that cause the small object to maintain a stable or nearly stable position relative to the large bodies.
There are five such points, labeled L1 to L5, all in the orbital plane of the two large bodies, for each given combination of two orbital bodies.
International Space Station
– The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit.
– Its first component was launched into orbit in 1998, with the first long-term residents arriving in November 2000.
– The station is expected to operate until 2030.
– The ISS is the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
– It serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.
– The ISS programme is a joint project between five participating space agencies:
NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada)
– It was also planned to provide transportation, maintenance, and act as a staging base for possible future missions to the Moon, Mars and asteroids.
Space Missions of The World
(Important for match the following types of questions,you just need to know the mission name,destination planet and agency name)
Moon Missions
ARTEMIS P1/P2 - NASA
Mission: studying the effect of the solar wind on the Moon. Originally launched as Earth satellites, they were later repurposed and moved to lunar orbit.
Institution: United States NASA
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter-NASA
Mission: engaged in lunar mapping intended to identify safe landing sites, locate potential resources on the Moon, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology.
Institution: United States NASA
Venus Missions
Akatsuki- JAXA
Mission: The first Japanese Venusian probe. Also known as Planet-C and Venus Climate Orbiter, Akatsuki failed to enter Venusian orbit in December 2010. It continued to function and entered Venus orbit in 2015.
Institution: Japan JAXA
Subprobes: IKAROS and Shin’en
Mars Missions
The oldest active spacecraft for Mars is 2001 Mars Odyssey.
2001 Mars Odyssey -NASA
Mission: one of six currently active human-made Mars satellites. It is continuing its extended mission to map the surface of Mars and also acts as a relay for the Curiosity rover.[3] Its name is a tribute to the novel and film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Institution: United States NASA
Mars Express- ESA
Mission: Mars orbiter designed to study the planet’s atmosphere and geology, search for sub-surface water, and deploy the Beagle 2 lander.In 2017 the mission was extended until at least the end of 2020.
Institution: ESA (European Space Agency)
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter- NASA
Mission: the second NASA satellite orbiting Mars. It is specifically designed to analyze the landforms, stratigraphy, minerals, and ice of the red planet.
Institution: United States NASA
Lander: Curiosity Rover- NASA
Mission: searching for evidence of organic material on Mars, monitoring methane levels in the atmosphere, and engaging in exploration of the landing site at Gale Crater.
Institution: United States NASA
Mangalyaan- ISRO
Mission: the first Indian interplanetary space probe. It was successfully inserted into orbit of Mars on 24 September 2014.
Institution: India ISRO
MAVEN — Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution-NASA
Mission: study the Martian upper atmosphere and its gradual loss to space
Institution: United States NASA
Trace Gas Orbiter (ExoMars 2016) - ESA
Mission: study methane and other trace gases in the Martian atmosphere
Institution: ESA
Lander: Schiaparelli (crashed upon landing attempt)
Lander: InSight- NASA
Mission: to study the deep interior of Mars, with a seismometer and a heat-flow probe.
Institution: United States NASA
Asteroids and comets Missions
Hayabusa 2-JAXA
Mission: asteroid study and sample-return
Institution: Japan JAXA
Lander probe: MASCOT and MINERVA-II
OSIRIS-Rex - NASA
Mission: asteroid study and sample-return
Institution: United States NASA
Heliocentric orbit Missions
Chang'e 2 -CHINA-CNSA
Mission: lunar exploration, asteroid fly-by, develop Chinese deep-space capability
Institution: China CNSA
Parker Solar Probe- NASA
Institution: United States NASA
Outer Solar System Missions
Juno-NASA
Mission: studying Jupiter from polar orbit. Intended to de-orbit into the Jovian atmosphere after 2021.
Destination: Jupiter
Institution: United States NASA
New Horizons-NASA
Mission: the first spacecraft to study Pluto up close, and ultimately the Kuiper Belt. It was the fastest spacecraft when leaving Earth and will be the fifth probe to leave the solar system.
Destination: Pluto and Charon
Institution: United States NASA
Voyager 1- NASA
Mission: investigating Jupiter and Saturn, and the moons of these planets.
Destination: Jupiter and Saturn
Institution: United States NASA
Voyager 2-NASA
Mission: studying all four gas giants.
Destination: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Institution: United States NASA
Cassini–Huygens -NASA+ESA+ASI(ITALY)
Mission: Cassini orbiter studying Saturn and its moons after passing Venus and Jupiter; Huygens landing probe investigating Titan. Cassini primarily investigated Saturn’s rings, its magnetosphere, and the geologic composition of its satellites.
Institution: collaboration between United States NASA, ESA and Italy ASI
Dawn- NASA
Mission: studying asteroid 4 Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres
Institution: United States NASA
Mission completion: 1 November 2018, spacecraft ran out of hydrazine propellant
