MARS:
ü This
is one the planets in the solar system.
ü It
is named after the ancient Roman god of war.
ü The
Greeks called it ‘Ares’
ü It
is also called Red planet.
ü The
Greeks and the Romans associated this Mars with war because of its soil’s red colour resembling the colour of blood.
ü This
is the 4th planet from the Sun. (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune)
ü The
Mars is the closest planet to the earth.
ü It
is 1/6th size of the earth.
ü Composition
of Mars atmosphere:
·
Carbon dioxide – 95.32 percent
·
Nitrogen – 2.7 percent
·
Argon – 1.6 percent
·
Oxygen – 0.13 percent
·
Water vapour – 0.03 percent
·
Nitric Oxide – 0.01 percent
LATEST:
ü The
MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) or Mangalayan successfully launched by ISRO on
November 5, 2013 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. It was launched through PSLV XL C-25.
OBJECTIVES OF
THE MISSION:
·
To focus on looking for the presence of
methane.
·
NOTE: Methane
odorless and colourless gas and is widely available in the nature. The presence
of it indicates the life.
·
To plan, manage and operate an
interplanetary mission
·
Deep space communication, navigation
mission planning and management
·
Developing the technologies required for
design
ü The
project cost is Rs. 4.5 Billions
ü The
project Director of MOM is M. Annaadurai.
ü It
carried five payloads
and all are indigenously made.
·
Lyman-Alpha Photometer (LAP)
·
Methane Sensor For Mars (MSM)
·
Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition
Analyzer (MENCA)
·
Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (TIS)
·
Mars Colour Camera (MCC)
LYMAN-ALPHA PHOTOMETER (LAP)
ü LAP
is made by Laboratory for Electro-Optic systems (LOES), Bangalore (Karnataka)
ü LAP
measures the relative amounts of Deuterium to Hydrogen which will help in
understanding the loss of water.
METHANE SENSOR FOR MARS (MSM):
ü MSM
is made by Space Application center located in Ahmadabad (Gujarat)
ü The
MSM is assigned to detect the presence of Methane gas which is an indicator of
presence of life.
MARS EXOSPHERIC NEUTRAL
COMPOSITION ANALYZER (MENCA)
ü MENCA
is made by Space Physics Laboratory Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)
ü It
looks into the exosphere of Mars.
THERMAL INFRARED SPECTROMETER
(TIS)
ü TIS
is also made by Space Application centre
ü This
provides the information about the origin of Methane whether it comes from
biological or geological process.
MARS COLOUR CAMERA (MCC)
ü MCC
helps in optical imaging of Mars surface.
ISTRAC (IRSO TELEMETRY, TRACKING
AND COMMAND NETWORK):
ü This
is located in Bangalore
ü After
launching the ISTRAC is the nerve centre of the mission
ü It
communicates with the space craft now
ü According
to ISTRAC the satellite goes around the earth once in 6 hours and 50 minutes
ü By
December 1, 2013 the space craft must be put on the path to the Mars
Mars Orbiter Mission is
designed for scientific
exploration. The objective is to develop and test
technologies necessary for long inter planetary
mission.
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