Mars Orbiter Mission

What is it?



It is a mission to successfully send a spacecraft to orbit the Mars and study its various aspects.This mission was envisaged by ISRO in about 2010, on the backdrop of successful Chandrayaan mission and officially declared by the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech in 2012.

The mission is called Mars Orbiter Mission, the spacecraft [the orbiter] is called Mangalyaan. The mission is essentially a "technology demonstrator" project aiming to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission.



The payloads on the craft and their various functions:



1. a colour camera for optical imaging of the martian surfacesurface

2. a methane sensor

3. a thermal infrared camera to study geological activity

4. a Lyman Alpha Photometer to study the Martian atmosphere

5. and a payload to study the neutral composition of the planets upper atmosphere



Out of all the above payloads, the methane sensor is considered to be the most important.





Why so much fuss about methane?



As we all know, methane is considered by many to be an important indicator of life. The thing is many scientists have claimed that there is methane on mars based on sat and telescope observations, but curiosity didnt discover any.



Also, there are reasons to believe it might have disappeared, either due to intense solar activity or some biological processes. Plus, methane can not confirm biological activity on mars, since it can also origin from geological formations, just like on earth. In short, there is too much of confusion related to the subject. And that is why most of the focus on the mission relates to methane.





The Launch:



Using the time trusted friend of ISRO - PSLV rockets. Since our GSLV programme, which can enable us to launch heavier rockets into higher orbits, is still stranded, PSLV was the best bet.



But since PSLV is not very powerful, ISRO first launched the craft into lower orbits, and plans to raise the orbiting radius with the help of thrusters, rockets fired to provide more speed to already revolving spacecraft. So in effect, the craft will revolve around the earth for some time and after some time when the orbital radius is increased to a level, will leave for mars, where it will reach sometime in September 2014, where one more thrust would be provided to get the craft into the martian orbit.



ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network.) is ISROs tracking centre, which will communicate with the spacecraft, correct the course and command the spacecraft.





Major criticisms:



1. The most scathing attacks relate to the cost of the mission, considering the physical benefits it can bring for the nation. It is just a scientific experiment with little physical benefits in the near future, and it doesnt make sense for a developing nation with its huge socio-economic problems, including poverty to spend crores of rupees for something that looks like an expensive me-too mission.



2. The scond criticism is that it diverts attention away from the more critical failures of Indias space programmes. The GSLV programme is yet to take off positively. ISRO falls short of capacity to cater to the communication needs of our country. A few months ago, airtel had sued isro for not meeting its contract commitments to provide transponders on its satellites. Transponder is the equipment that facilitates communication and is required for providing DTH services, etc.


3. Not really a criticism but this mission is also viewed to be a manifestation of asian space race where asian powers like India, China and Japan are involved, and is thought to be needless given that India lags much behind in important economic parameters compared to the other two countries.


4. Also the timing of the launch is criticised. The mission was completed in haste, just 15 months and its urgency is questioned when we have other issues like the GSLV to attend to. But the reason for such hurry may be attributed to the fact that if we missed this opportunity, the next best opportunity to send a spacecraft to mars would arrive in 2016 only.





The Bright Side:



1. The first shoot off obviously is the international impression it creates. As stated earlier, this is largely a technology demonstrator project. But even Giants like the USA, Japan and China have failed to make it to the mars in first attempt. Only the ESA has succeded in its maiden attempt. Our space programme has been one of the best in the world, and this success would cement our position.



2. The international recognition could get us access to advanced research opportunities and bigger programmes. As the space research gets more and more complex, there is going to be need of international cooperation for bigger projects, and india will be a natural choice in such a scenario. for eg., many experts think that the manned mission to mars will be a collaboration of many countries.


3. The cost involved, which is missions most severe criticism by the sceptics is also the most positive takeaway from the mission. At just Rs. 450 crores, it is the cheapest ever mission to mars. This may be because of various reasons like, use of mostly indigenous technology and equipments, low salary of scientists, an economy that is vastly different from countries who have previously tried such missions. But this opens up a range of business opportunities in the sector, given that cost is becoming the most important consideratipons for the future missions. To put in perspective, NASAs MAVEN mission that took off few days after Mangalyaan, costs 6 times more. [But it must not be forgotten that the two missions are essentially different, with MAVEN carrying heavier loads and higher mission objectives.] It is for this reason that there are some who opine that Indias mission objective will be achieved even if it can just put its craft in the martian orbit.


4. These kind of missions may subsequently result in a snowballing effect in other sectors, resulting in significant spin-off technologies, i.e. technologies used in this mission could be used in other sectors. For example even NASA spin-offs have contributed to fields like computer technology, environment and agriculture, health and medicine, public safety, transportation, recreation, and industrial productivity.


5. Although this mission may seem irrelevant today, these things take time to have real impact. And the price of falling behind may be too much. This is summed up best by what the ISRO chairman said : if we do not do this, we will become stagnant




Conclusion:



It is true this mission alone does not make us the world space power. Although China has not been able to send its mission to Mars doesnt directly mean we are better than them. They have been able to send man to space, built a space station, etc. It is also true that there dont seem many physical benefits of this programme in the immediate future.



But it is unfair to question the need for superiority in one field when the other fields are lagging behind. We do need progress in other fields like primary education, infrastructure, health, etc. but that can not be the reason why we should not advance ahead in space technology. To be a global power, we need to be powerful in all the fields and Space Tech is one of the important ones.



Everything that we do is not to get material gains only. Humans have a greater urge to achieve something significant, for self actualisation. This programme signifies Indias aspiration to be a globally significant power. This can ignite a spark in our children, the future generation. And the greatest achievement of this mission will be realised if even some kids chose to pursue a career in science research and technology, inspired from ISROs success story. After all, mars is just a metaphor (









Reference:

* mostly from The Hindu, a line from Wikipedia, a few randon internet searches, and a lil bit of brainstorming. (



By:Manish Zole



* Im starting to hate books due to UPSC preparations, dont want any.

* THANK YOU VERY MUCH.