| India's Chandrayaan-1 heads for the Moon |
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| by Stephen Withers | |
| Thursday, 06 November 2008 | |
  
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The craft carries 11 scientific instruments, including a terrain mapping camera, an imaging X-ray spectrometer, a near-infrared spectrometer, and a device for studying the interaction of the Moon's surface with the solar wind as well as surface magnetic anomalies - shades of 2001's TMA-1! A series of five engine firings took Chandrayaan-1 from its initial Earth orbit into the lunar transfer orbit. When the craft approaches the Moon, a corresponding series of manoeuvres will drop it into a 100 km circular orbit. Once in orbit, Chandrayaan-1 will eject its Moon Impact Probe - a small (470 mm in the longest dimension) device carrying a radar altimeter, a video camera, and a mass spectrometer. It will take approximately 20 minutes for MIP to descend to the lunar surface. If this part of the mission is successful, India will become the fourth nation to place its flag on the Moon's surface. The ISRO is already planning the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which will land a small rover vehicle on the Moon to carry out chemical analysis of soil and rock samples, relaying the data through the orbiting probe. |
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