Chandrayaan-1: One more step, one more giant leap

22nd October was a big day, a day which got registered as a golden chapter
in the history book of Indian space science. Chandrayaaan-1 was launched at
6:30 am IST, from Satish Dhavan Space Center, Shriharikota. Great brains
sweated for making a dream to bloom into a reality. Scientists added one more
feather in their dignified caps and the world stood up to give a standing
ovation. Each day of its journey added a new dimension to its success and on
the 8th of November it entered the lunar orbit. With every achievement, India
felt proud and Scientists sang along,
aao tumhey chand pey le jaayen
Moon, our nearest neighbor, for centuries has instigated all the emotional
gestures in human beings. Some looked at it with awe and worshipped it. For
some, its beauty evoked romanticism, still others wrote verses on it. There
were a curious few who observed its motion and phases, relating them with
certain periodicity of earth. As a result ancient lunar calendars were developed.
Several activities like eclipses and tides were also ascertained with the
revolution of moon around the earth. The inquisitive nature of man has thus
turned his steps towards understanding moon slowly and steadily. He has
evolved from designing lunar calendars to setting step on the moon.
Modern lunar exploration history can be divided into two time periods, the
twentieth century and the twenty first century. Space exploration program was
triggered off in the mid twentieth century [1960s], which included orbiting,
landing and fly by of unmanned mission, with a final breakthrough in 1969
when man set his footprint on the surface of moon. In this era lunar
exploration remained confined to the countries like erstwhile USSR and USA.
Two important missions sent by USA, the Clementine in 1994 and Lunar
Prospector in 1998 sent remote sensing data on the earth. These data
confirmed that there was lot more to demystify in the moon. Several questions
regarding the origin and evolution of the moon still remain to be answered.
This elicited a new vigor in the future of space exploration.
The successive era saw the expansion of space science in several other
countries resulting in many more lunar probing missions. In the
commencement of the twenty first century, in 2003-4, first mission sent on the
moon was from European Space Agency [ESA], which was named SMART-1.
Second expedition was from Japan named Kaguya (Selene) in September
2007. China did not remain behind in sending its mission Chang’E in October,
2007. The year 2008 marked the rendezvous of India with the moon, through
its lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. Chandrayaan-1 is not only a mission but it
redefines the history of space science in India, giving a glorious vision to the
outside world.
 The seeds for the mission were sown during the tenure of Dr. K.
Kasturirangan, the previous chairman of Indian Space Research Organization
[ISRO]. It was nurtured under the able supervision of eminent ISRO and PRL
[Physical Research Laboratory] scientists like Dr. Madhavan Nair (Chairman,
ISRO), Prof. J.N. Goswami [Principle scientist of the mission], Dr. M.
Annadurai [Project Director], Prof. N. Bhandari and Dr. George Joseph.
Chandrayaan-1 was conceived keeping in mind its probable role in
strengthening lunar science and is designed to execute the following
objectives:
1. Preparing a 3-D topographical map of the moon,
2. Detecting and estimating minerals through hyperspectral imaging,
3. Chemical mapping using X-ray fluorescence and γ-ray spectroscopy,
4. Recognition of potential sites containing water.
Though, the mission aims at global mapping of the moon, specific areas of
interest includes unraveling the permanently shadowed regions on moon
expected to contain water, exploring central peaks of the craters, where
material from depth is exposed and investigating giant South Pole Aitken Basin
(2400 Kms in diameter and 11 Kms deep) for probable exposures of mantle
rocks.
Accordingly, Chandrayaan-1 is fashioned as a polar lunar orbiter cuboidal
in shape (approx. 1.50 m side), which will survey the Moon for a period of two
years from an altitude of ~ 100 kms. It is equipped with state of the art remote
sensing devices, much more sophisticated and technologically advanced, as
compared to the previous missions to Moon. Thus, they are capable of
providing accurate high resolution data in the U.V., visible, Infrared, X- ray
and gamma ray regions of electromagnetic spectrum. The space horse which
took Chandrayaan-1 for a ride is an improved version of PSLV, i.e. the PSLV-
XL. Its vital stats are: 45m in height and 295 metric tons in weight.

There are eleven payloads in the lunar craft. Six of them are indigenous and
five are either international guest payloads or made in collaboration with
Indian counterparts. The major ones among these are:
• Terrain Mapping Camera [TMC]:
It was designed and fabricated at Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad
to generate high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the lunar surface.
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• Hyperspectral imager [HySI], Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M ) and
Infrared spectrometer (SIR-2):
These instruments are meant for carrying out extensive mineral mapping of the
lunar surface at a high spatial resolution of about 80 meters, by probing the
reflected sun rays. The HySI (400 nm – 950 nm) designed at SAC, Ahmedabad
and M3 (700 nm to 3000 nm) built by Brown University and Jet Propulsion
Lab, USA are imaging spectrometers, whereas, SIR-2, designed by Max Plank,
Germany is a line spectrometer (930 – 2400 nm ) with very high spectral
resolution (~ 6nm).
• Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument [LLRI]:
It is built by Electro-Optics Systems, Bangalore. Acting as an important
instrument in the mission, it will continuously measure the altitude of the
spacecraft from the lunar surface. Its data will complement TMC data and will
be useful in improving the existing gravitational model of the moon.
• High energy X-ray spectrometer (HEX):
It was designed and fabricated collectively by PRL, Ahmedabad and ISRO
Satellite Centre, Bangalore. It will be used to measure concentration of
radioactive elements such as Uranium and Thorium, 210Pb etc. Among these,
210
Pb will be utilized to trace the movement of volatiles (water etc.) on the
lunar surface
• Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS):
This instrument is the modified version of X-ray spectrometer of SMART-
1[Germany]. It will measure the elemental composition (Fe, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti)
of the lunar surface by measuring fluorescent X-rays.
• Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini SAR):
It is designed by Applied Physics Laboratory, USA. The main objective of this
instrument is to explore the mysterious polar regions of Moon for “water”, an
essential ingredient to boost the future plans of mankind to set up a human
base station on moon.
• Sub Atomic Reflection Analyser (SARA):
It is realized through ESA, in collaboration with Swedish Institute of Space
Physics, Sweden and Space Physics Laboratory, ISRO. It will use low energy
neutral atoms sputtered from the surface to map the composition. In addition, it
will also study the solar wind – surface interaction and magnetic anomalies.
• Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM):
It is fabricated in Bulgaria and is meant for mapping radioactive environment
around moon.
• Moon Impact Probe [MIP]:
It is developed by ISRO and will be the first one to be ejected by the
Chandrayaan-1. It has an inbuilt camera, a spectrometer and pictures of Indian
flag painted on all sides. It will crash land at a specified location on the moon
once it reaches the 100 km lunar orbit.
Among all the payloads, MIP has a special significance. Besides ‘implanting’
the Indian flag on the Moon, its crash landing symbolizes an aspect of Indian
culture, wherein touching the stage before performing, is customary to procure
blessings for success.
Power backup in the lunar craft will be provided by solar arrays.
During eclipses, power generation will switch over to Lithium ion batteries.
 The better half of Chandrayaan-1 is the ground segment which is a
regulatory entity. It comprises of three basic infrastructural units. These include
Deep Space Network (DSN), Spacecraft Control Center (SCC) and Indian
Space Science Data Center (ISSDC). These have been specifically designed to
support Chandrayaan-1 and other upcoming planetary missions. The
Telemetry, Tracking and command will be communicated through S-band
frequency and the data received from the lunar craft will be in the X-band
frequency. For these purpose, two antennae measuring 18m and 32m, have
been set at ISRO tracking centre at Byalalu, near Bangalore.
Future planning has in store, several mission launched by several
countries, the most immediate one will be Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
launched by USA. A second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 has been planned
which will be an outcome of Indo-Russian collaboration. It will land a
motorized rover on the moon. The rover will study specific data samples of
soils and rocks on the lunar surface and will have an operating life of about one
month. Tentative year of launching Chandrayaan-2 is 2011-2012.
Chandrayaan-1 has acted as a perfect brand ambassador to ‘market’ space
science among youths. Its launch is definitely a milestone in upliftment of
science and technology, by creating a genuine fervor in the public. A slogan
raised by our former prime minister Shree Atal Bihari Bajpayee seems apt to
be quoted here, i.e. “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisaan, Jai Vigyaan”.
Amidst the euphoria of celebrating Chandrayaan-1 launch, dreams of
setting an abode on the moon has started brewing up inside several ‘ignited’
minds. Looking at the trajectory adopted by lunar research, achieving it does
not seem unfeasible. Amid the excitement of settling on moon, the only trace
of negativity is that, the sentiments, passion and radiance attributed to the word
“moon” will be left far behind. Will you be able to find any charm, beauty or
innocence in “chanda mama”, “chandni ratein”, Chand sa mukhda”?
The ray of hope lies in the fact that our solar system has a showcase of wide
range of planets and satellites, lined up for your admiration. You may choose
any one of them as a simile for your girlfriend. How about “Titan sa mukhda”!