It's working! Countdown to D-day begins as Isro successfully test-fires Mangalyaan engine
On the day US spacecraft MAVEN entered the Mars orbit, India's Mangalyaan woke up after 300 days of sleep at 2:30pm on Monday, clearing a key test and taking the country closer to its inclusion in a select group that has successfully sent probes to the Red Planet.
Mangalyaan's liquid engine responded positively after scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) test-fired it less than 48 hours before its scheduled entry to the Mars orbit.
"Main liquid engine performed as predicted. The spacecraft is in good health," Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan told HT.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2014/9/mars-gfx1.jpg
Source of graphics: Isro
Soon after the test-fire, Isro's Facebook page said, "We had a perfect burn for four seconds as programmed. The trajectory has been corrected. MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) will now go for the nominal plan for Mars Orbit Insertion."
Earlier in the day, India became the first Asian country to enter the Martian sphere of influence after the spacecraft swung into the gravitational pull of the planet.
"Our navigators' calculations show that MOM has entered the gravitational sphere of influence of Mars around 9am," Isro said on the social media.
According to an IANS report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to witness the historic occasion when the spacecraft will be inserted into the Mars orbit around 7.30am at a distance of 423 km from its surface and 215 million km away (radio distance) from earth.
If successful, the probe will be a momentous occasion in India's space research history. Only the US, Europe and Russia have sent probes that have orbited or landed on Mars.
Probes to Mars have a high failure rate and a success will be a boost for the national pride, especially after a similar mission by China failed to leave Earth’s orbit in 2011.
The Mangalyaan probe, moreover, is India’s first interplanetary mission. It has a Rs. 450-crore price tag and was launched on November 5, 2013, to find evidence of life on Mars.
It's working! Countdown to D-day begins as Isro successfully test-fires Mangalyaan engine - Hindustan Times
On the day US spacecraft MAVEN entered the Mars orbit, India's Mangalyaan woke up after 300 days of sleep at 2:30pm on Monday, clearing a key test and taking the country closer to its inclusion in a select group that has successfully sent probes to the Red Planet.
Mangalyaan's liquid engine responded positively after scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) test-fired it less than 48 hours before its scheduled entry to the Mars orbit.
"Main liquid engine performed as predicted. The spacecraft is in good health," Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan told HT.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/popup/2014/9/mars-gfx1.jpg
Source of graphics: Isro
Soon after the test-fire, Isro's Facebook page said, "We had a perfect burn for four seconds as programmed. The trajectory has been corrected. MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) will now go for the nominal plan for Mars Orbit Insertion."
Earlier in the day, India became the first Asian country to enter the Martian sphere of influence after the spacecraft swung into the gravitational pull of the planet.
"Our navigators' calculations show that MOM has entered the gravitational sphere of influence of Mars around 9am," Isro said on the social media.
According to an IANS report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to witness the historic occasion when the spacecraft will be inserted into the Mars orbit around 7.30am at a distance of 423 km from its surface and 215 million km away (radio distance) from earth.
If successful, the probe will be a momentous occasion in India's space research history. Only the US, Europe and Russia have sent probes that have orbited or landed on Mars.
Probes to Mars have a high failure rate and a success will be a boost for the national pride, especially after a similar mission by China failed to leave Earth’s orbit in 2011.
The Mangalyaan probe, moreover, is India’s first interplanetary mission. It has a Rs. 450-crore price tag and was launched on November 5, 2013, to find evidence of life on Mars.
It's working! Countdown to D-day begins as Isro successfully test-fires Mangalyaan engine - Hindustan Times
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