Distributing pamphlets, stickers and literature concerning India’s first unmanned spacecraft lunar mission, the men from ISRO said it was a moment of pride for them.
A Bhaskaranarayana, Scientific Secretary, ISRO, said: “We have the contingency fuel ready for the mission in case more is required than what is estimated. But so far, we are pleased to say, all our estimates are bang on target. Steering of the spacecraft to its final orbit was crucial and we achieved it with precision. Since the contingency fuel is lying unspent, we can contemplate extending the mission by another year.”
The mission was first conceived in 2003 when Dr A P J Abdul Kalam was the President. While the scientists talked about the Chandrayaan-1 at PGI, the former President was incidentally at a separate function in the city, asking the countrymen to take pride in the ISRO’s achievement.
“We had made the presentation of the Chandrayaan mission before him (Dr Kalam) when he was in office in 2003. We received a lot of encouragement and guidance. In fact, he was the main brain behind the moon impact probe (MIP) technology in Chandrayaan,” said A Bhaskaranarayana.
MIP is one of the 11 scientific instruments onboard Chandrayaan-1, which was launched on October 22 and entered the lunar orbit on November 8.
Stating that the lunar mission so far is on the “right track”, Bhaskaranarayana said the biggest challenge for the ISRO before the launch of the spacecraft was perhaps to determine the exact target in the varying temperature of the moon. “The radio signals begin weakening by the time they reach earth. Indian Deep Space Network performs the crucial task of receiving these signals through the indigenously developed antennas.”
Chandrayaan II will involve sending a rover, an automatic robot, to the moon to collect matters like rock from deep below the lunar surface. The scientists said this would further help in gathering more accurate information about the moon. The rover will send information to the mothership that will be received by the earth station.
So what next? “ISRO is busy developing cryogenic engines (rocket motors designed for liquid fuels — hydrogen and oxygen — that have to be held at very low “cryogenic” temperatures to be liquid; they would otherwise be gas at normal temperatures) indigenously. The project should see results by April next year,” signed off Bhaskaranarayana.