Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM

Indias first interplanetary mission to Mars called Mars orbiter mission (MOM), informally called
Mangalyaan(the name is Hindi for "Mars Craft") was successfully launched on November 5
th
2013 into
Earth orbit by ISRO from Satish Dhawan Space center at Shriharikota, Andhra Pradesh near Chennai,
using PSLV rocket C25.If successful, ISRO would become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after
the Soviet space program, NASA, and European Space Agency.
The Rs 450-crore ($73.5 million) Mars mission will send the Mangalyaan spacecraft on an 11-month trek
to Mars to study the planet's atmosphere and surface from orbit. The 1350Kg Spacecrafts journey of 300
days covering 680Mn Kms will be challenging and has to pass through 3 phases
1. Earth Centered Phase (To escape Earths gravity)
2. Helio Centric Phase (Deep space Travel)
3. Martian Phase ( Mars Orbit insertion)
The launch will be followed by six orbit raising operations to escape earths gravity, raising the orbit to
one with apogee of 192,000 km and perigee of 252 km, where it will remain for 15 days. A firing on 1
st

Dec 2013 will send MOM into interplanetary trajectory. If everything went as planned the Mars Orbit
should its destination on 24
th
September 2014, the satellite will have highly elliptical orbit of 80000 km
apogee and 365 km perigee with red planet.
OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of the Mars Orbiter Mission is to showcase India's rocket launch systems,
spacecraft-building and operations capabilities. Specifically, the primary objective is to develop
the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary
mission, comprising the following major tasks:
Design and realisation of a Mars orbiter with a capability to perform Earth-bound
maneuvers, cruise phase of 300 days, Mars orbit insertion / capture, and on-orbit phase
around Mars.
Deep-space communication, navigation, mission planning and management.
Incorporate autonomous features to handle contingency situations.
The secondary objective is to explore Mars' surface features, morphology, mineralogy and
Martian atmosphere using indigenous scientific instruments.
PAYLOAD
The 15 kg scientific payload consists of five instruments:
Atmospheric studies
Lyman-Alpha Photometer (LAP) Measures the relative abundance of deuterium and hydrogen.
Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM) will measure methane in the atmosphere of Mars, if any, and
map its sources.
Particle environment studies
Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer (MENCA) is a quadrupole mass analyzer
capable of analyzing the neutral composition of particles in the exosphere.
Surface imaging studies
Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS) will measure the temperature and emissivity of
the Martian surface, allowing for the mapping of surface composition and mineralogy of Mars.
Mars Color Camera (MCC) will provide images in the visual spectrum, providing context for
the other instruments.

The Indian orbiter will have a useful life of at least six months around Mars. Once the mission is
complete, the spacecraft would not be allowed to crash on the planet. Soon after the spacecraft was put
into space, action in the Mars orbiter mission was shifted to Bangalore based tracking Centre, ISTRAC
(ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network). National Aeronautical and Space Administration
(NASA) would provide support to the ground-segment operations from the Deep Space Network during
the non-visible periods of ISROs network.
For ages humans have believed of life on Mars. However the question still needs to be answered yet.

Comparison between MARS and EARTH
Mars Earth
Distance from Sun 227,900,000 km 149,600,000 km
Radius 3,390 km 6,371 km
Surface area 144,798,500 km 510,072,000 km
Mass 639E21 kg 5.972E24 kg
Gravity 3.711 m/s 9.78 m/s
Age 4.5 billion years 4.54 billion years
Moons Phobos, Deimos Moon
Orbital period 687 days 365 days
Density 3.93 g/cm 5.52 g/cm
Orbits Sun Sun
Escape velocity 5.027 km/s 11.19 km/s