William Atkins
Tuesday, 21 October 2008 04:08
Science -
Energy
Page 1 of 2
The first moon mission for India, Chandrayaan-1, is scheduled to lift off on Wednesday, October 22, 2008. The unmanned spacecraft is expected to orbit the Moon, with part of it ejected and aimed for a direct hit onto the lunar surface.
The countdown for the launch of
Chandrayaan-1 into orbit began at approximately 5.30 a.m. on Monday, October 20, 2008.
The
Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft will be launched via an Indian-made modified Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from its launch site at the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India.
The lunar exploration spacecraft will hold scientific instruments from the United States (National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
NASA), the European Union (European Space Agency,
ESA), India (Indian Space Research Organization,
ISRO), and Bulgaria (Bulgarian Aerospace Agency,
BAA).
Specifically, the spacecraft will carry high-resolution remote sensing equipment in the visible, near-infrared, and soft and hard x-ray frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Its two-year mission will consist of performing a survey of the lunar surface in order to compile a complete map of the chemical features of the Moon, along with a three-dimensional map of its topography.
Its
website states that it has two scientific objectives. They are:
(1)
“To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with a high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10m [meter]) of both near and far side of the moon.”
and
(2)
“To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium with a spatial resolution of about 25 km [kilometers]
and high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with a spatial resolution of about 20 km.”
Read page two for its mission objectives and the launch time.
