Tue, Jun 28, 2005
Mission Slated For 2007 or 2008
When India launches its first-ever
unmanned moon mission, it will carry payloads for the European
Space Agency and NASA, according to the country's space agency.
“The payload from ESA that would weigh 30 kg will include
a multi-spectrometer and a particle detector,” Indian
Satellite Research Organization (ISRO) chairman Dr. G. Madhavan
Nair told reporters at an international conferences on Planetary
Exploration and Space Law. He was speaking in Bangalore, India.
“ISRO has already received a number of proposals from
international agencies including NASA. Deliberations are on and the
payload will be finalized shortly,” he said.
The ESA will contribute to the mission:
- A low energy (0.5-10 keV) X-ray spectrometer called Chandrayaan
Imaging X-Ray Spectrometer from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK,
to measure elemental abundance distributed over the lunar surface
using X-ray fluorescence technique. It will also include X-ray
solar monitor to record the incident solar X-ray flux.
- Near Infra-Red (IR) Spectrometer from Max Planck Institute of
Aeronomie, Germany, to detect and measure lunar mineral
abundances.
- Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer from Swedish Institute of
Space Physics, developed in collaboration with India, to measure
volatiles generated due to solar wind impacting on lunar surface
and determine the surface magnetic field anomalies.
- Europe will also contribute to the Indian experiment, namely,
High Energy X-ray Spectrometer.
The European instruments will complement the following main
Indian experiments on Chandrayaan-1:
- Terrain Mapping Camera with stereo imaging capability operating
in panchromatic band with 5 meter spatial resolution and 20 km
swath.
- A Hyper-Spectral Imager operating in 400-900 nm band with a
spectral resolution of 15 nm, a spatial resolution of 80 meter and
20 km swath.
- A Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument with a vertical resolution of
better than 5 meter.
- A High Energy X-ray (10-250 keV) spectrometer with a footprint
of 20 km to detect radio nuclei.
- In addition, an Impact Probe has been included in the mission
for proving technological elements required for future landing
missions.
Chandrayaan-1 is planned for launch by 2007-08 on board India's
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The 525 kg satellite will be placed
in 100 km polar orbit around the moon and it will have a life time
of two years.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All