Indian Mars exploration missions
Indian space missions aimed at Mars
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Indian Mars exploration missions are an ongoing series of outer space missions by ISRO for the exploration of Mars. The exploration is currently in the primary phase with Orbiter missions.[3]
PSLV-XL C25 lifts off with Mars Orbiter Mission on 5 November 2013. | |
| Program overview | |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Organization | ISRO |
| Purpose | Exploration of Mars |
| Status | Active |
| Programme history | |
| Cost | ₹454 crore (US$54 million)[1][2] |
| Duration | 2013–present |
| First flight | Mars Orbiter Mission, 5 November 2013 |
| Launch site | Satish Dhawan Space Centre |
| Vehicle information | |
| Launch vehicle | PSLV-XL |
There has been a single mission so far that deployed an orbiter around the planet which later lost its contact with the earth in 2022.[4][5][6] A second mission planned for 2030 when the launch window opens.[7][8]
Mission
Orbiter
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The first mission, which is also known as Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was launched in 2013 which carried Mars Orbiter Mission orbiter. The original mission was expected to operate for 6 months, but it lived well past its expected lifetime and lost its contact with the earth in 2022, lasting for over seven years.
Rovers and Rotocrafts
Mars Lander Mission is a proposed second Indian mission to Mars. Unlike the previous orbiter, it will operate in a lower orbit with Periareon and Apoareon altitude closer to the Martian surface. It will also carry greater scientific payload that includes a hyperspectral camera, a very high resolution panchromatic camera and a radar to better understand the early stages of Mars, its early crust, recent basalts, and ongoing activities such as boulder falls.[9][10] Furthermore, ISRO has also conceptualized a Mars UAV Marble (Martian Boundary Layer Explorer), that will have a suite of payloads for aerial exploration of Mars. The aerial vehicle will be designed to be capable of flying up to 100 meters in the thin Martian air to profile the Martian atmosphere.[11][12] It is planned to be a part of Mangalyaan 2 mission.[13]
It will conduct a high-resolution vertical profiling of critical atmospheric parameters and perform first-of-its-kind in-situ measurements in the near-surface boundary layers of Mars. The payloads will include temperature sensor, humidity sensor, pressure sensor, wind speed sensor, electric field sensor, and the trace species and dust sensor to measure vertical distribution of dust aerosols. The information was shared by Jayadev Pradeep, a scientist with the Space Physics Laboratory at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, during a webinar.[14][15] The mission will also have a small rover.[13]
List of Missions
- Mission
Successful and inactive
Active
Unsuccessful
| Mission |
Launch Date |
Launch Vehicle |
Orbital Insertion Date | Landing Date | Return Date | Status | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Mission |
Extended Mission |
Expected Mission Duration |
Final Mission Duration |
Notes | |||||||
| Phase 1: Orbiters | |||||||||||
| Mars Orbiter Mission | 5 November 2013 | PSLV-XL | 24 September 2014 | – | – | Success | Success | 6 months | 7 years, 6 months, 8 days | First Indian interplanetary mission. | |
| Mars Lander Mission | NET 2030 | LVM3 | TBD | – | – | TBD | TBD | 1 year | TBD | Proposed Indian Mars lander mission. | |
Gallery
One of the first images of the surface of Mars taken by the MOM-1 on 25 September 2014.
Dust storm on northern hemisphere of Mars as seen from MOM-1 on 28 September 2014.
Tharsis and Valles Marineris as captured by MOM-1.
Syrtis Major by MOM-1.
North pole of Mars by MOM-1.
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