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Looks like India’s Chandrayaan I lunar probe has died, after a pretty good run.

India’s space agency ended an $82 million mission to map the surface of the moon after failing to restore contact with its unmanned Chandrayaan I craft.

Contact was lost with the probe two days ago and scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation were unable to restore communications, said S.K. Shivkumar, the director of the ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network. The craft began orbiting the moon last November…

“We survived for 315 days which is a good record. Many such experiments have burnt within a month in the past,” state- run broadcaster Doordarshan cited ISRO chief Madhavan Nair as saying yesterday.

315 days.  Darned good for newcomers.

Posted on August 31st, 2009 under Indian Space, Space Science. Tags: chandrayaan, india, lunar, moon, probe, space. Comments Off

Well, that was fast — apparently I didn’t pay close enough to the schedule, as I thought this was going to happen sometime next month - Chandrayaan-I Impact Probe Lands on Moon:

Developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of Thiruvananthapuram, the primary objective of MIP is to demonstrate the technologies required for landing a probe at the desired location on the moon.

The probe will help qualify some of the technologies related to future soft landing missions. This apart, scientific exploration of the moon at close distance is also intended using MIP.

During its 20-minute descent to the moon’s surface, MIP took pictures and transmitted them back to the ground. The first pictures are expected to be made public on Saturday…

The MIP consists of a C-band Radar Altimeter for continuous measurement of altitude of the probe, a video imaging system for acquiring images of the surface of moon from the descending probe and a mass spectrometer for measuring the constituents of extremely thin lunar atmosphere during its 20-minute descent to the lunar surface.

The MIP withstood the impact of a hardlanding after it hit the lunar surface.

Interesting that it appears to have survived the impact of the hard landing. Should be fun to see the pictures on Saturday.

Posted on November 14th, 2008 under Indian Space. Comments Off

India’s national space program has launched it’s Chandrayaan-1 probe to the Moon, carrying instruments to map the elemental composition of the lunar surface, search for He-3, and map the terrain, along with a camera-carrying penetrator probe which will among other things analyze the lunar atmosphere on the way down. (You knew the Moon had an atmosphere, right…?)

And all this for only $78M. Hard to believe.

Posted on October 22nd, 2008 under Indian Space, Space Science. Comments Off

Nair is also talking about manned lunar missions, and probes to Mars.

The ISRO chairman said the Indian space agency is not shying away from manned mission to the moon.

“It’s not a question of shying away. Whether we need it (manned mission to moon) immediately or not; that debate is going on. Opinion is truly divided. Some people believe the instruments themselves are more than adequate. Robots can do the job and so on. A few others believe it (manned mission) is a national pride and we should do it. We are also subjecting this for an internal review as well as in various professional bodies. Maybe in the course of a year, we will have better clarity on that (whether or not India should go for a manned mission),” he said.
“If we decide to do such a job, yes, we will gear up for facing such a challenge,” he said.

And also, apparently, dealing with the same sort of robots über alles arguments heard from some quarters in the US.

Posted on January 17th, 2006 under Indian Space. Comments Off

It’s just a passing mention, but this is interesting news, if only for the fact that India’s counterpart to Mike Griffin feels free to suggest such a thing:

ISRO has an important mission ‘Chandrayaan’, planned during 2007-08 for planetary exploration. The mission will not only map the lunar surface, but also find presence of minerals and water on the moon. Besides, the aim is also to look for helium-3 which will help satisfy India’s fuel needs.

He said the moon mission will form a major stepping stone in the efforts of ISRO and the nation as a whole towards launching a probe into a 100 km polar orbit around the moon using PSLV. The missions involving travel to very distant planets, wherein the time to reach is going to be of the order of months using conventional rocket propulsion systems, may call for the use of alternate systems, like electric and nuclear propulsion, he said.

Meanwhile, New Horizons’ launch has been postponed until Wednesday afternoon due to high winds.

Posted on January 17th, 2006 under Indian Space. Comments Off

I imagine that being eighteen and having an asteroid named after you would be a powerful incentive to succeed:

An asteroid flying several thousand miles away from Earth, currently located between Mars and Jupiter, has been named after 18-yearold Mumbaikar Bhushan Mahadik.

The asteroid was christened after him by the prestigious Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, which has played a key role in the development of space technology…

The laboratory named the asteroid after Bhushan in recognition of his achievement as a finalist in the 2003 Intel International Science Engineering Fare held in Ohio in 2003. The focus of his research was ’synthesis of carbon nanotubes’.

Bhushan passed out of Father Agnel Junior College, Navi Mumbai, in 2004. Now, he is doing his undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at the University of California in Berkley.

Or continue succeeding, in this case. (“Synthesis of carbon nanotubes”??? That’s an impressive science fair project, but then science fairs just ain’t what they used to be.)

But what the heck is this all about?

He was selected by Isro and Nasa to participate in the ‘Red Rovers Goes to Mars’ programme in 2002. At Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Bhushan was trained to operate the Martian rovers in a simulated environment. Mars Society president Robert Zubrin has allotted Bhushan an acre of land on the Red Planet.

How generous!

Posted on May 31st, 2005 under Indian Space. Comments Off

India is also planning a reusable launch vehicle demonstrator: Govt. nod for ISRO’S RLV technology demonstrator

Giving a boost to the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) ambitious programme to idigenously develop Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV), the Centre recently gave clearance for a technology demonstrator, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

…Mr Nair said the detailed design work for the technology demonstrator had already started.
The RLV technology demonstrator, expected to be ready within three to four years, would be the first step for ISRO to ultimately build its own RLVs, which could bring down the cost of launching satellites by as much as 60 per cent.
The Indian Space Research Organisation would have to work on a number of cutting edge technologies, including those related to hyper-sonic speeds and thermal protection, to perfect the technology demonstrator, Mr Nair said.

Having several botched U.S. RLV programs to learn from should make it somewhat easier, though, eh?

Posted on November 21st, 2004 under Indian Space. Comments: 1

They’re at least thinking along those lines: India debates space flight as lunar project proceeds

India’s space agency is ready to send a man into space within seven years if the government gives the nod, while preparations have already begun for the launching of an unmanned lunar mission, a top official said Sunday…

Nair said “a lot of debate” had to take place in India before a final decision is made on a manned space flight.

“The benefits and the costs involved have to be examined,” he said. “Various facilities and equipment such as a space capsule for human habitation, shielding, control and safety features have to be built. A large amount of funding is required.”

More on the same theme: IAF, ISRO discuss plans for manned space mission

Posted on November 21st, 2004 under Indian Space. Comments Off

Fatal explosion rips through India Space Center

“The propellant in the segment caught fire and caused severe damage to the building, in which the operations were going on,” Dar said. The plant makes all the solid fuel needed for rocket boosters.

Dar said the accident would not have any adverse impact on ISRO’s launch programs, as the fuel segment that exploded was a test propellant and not part of any program.

He seems to be contradicting himself there…if it’s the facility where all solid motor fuel is made, how can it not have an adverse impact on ISRO’s launch programs, given the substantial use of solids on PSLV and (to lesser extent) on GSLV?

Posted on February 24th, 2004 under Indian Space. Comments Off