Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Chandrayan-1 : India’s Flight to Moon” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Chandrayan-1 : India’s Flight to Moon

Essay No. 01

The space race in mainly America, Russia and other European Countries were participants, generally other countries such as developing country did not attracts attention towards space race. India has jumped into the space race. India has broken the monopoly of Super Powers in space and is ready to face many new challenges of space.

India has launched a unmanned spacecraft (Moon Vehicle) to moon. The spacecraft was launched by a modified version of the PSLVXL from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Shri Harikota, Andhra Pradesh. Chandrayan-1 is India’s first mission to the moon by India’s National Space Agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). We had gained a new achievement in the scope of space science on 22 October 2008 when India is sixth country to launch spacecraft to moon but our solid success achievements and preparations made for spacecraft Chandrayan-1 have risen the ray of hope in space science.

The work that was started by former Soviet Union and U.S.A. in twentieth century. India will be proved the next link in that chain definitely. The success in our space science in present time will be proved milestone in this direction. Chandrayan-1 was launched on 22 October 2008 at 6.22 am 1ST from Satish Dhawan Space Centre using ISRO’s 44.4 meter tall four stage PSLV launch rocket. Chandrayan-1 took 15 days to reach the lunar orbit. ISRO’s telemetry, tracking and command network (ISTRAC) at Peenya in Bangalore will be tracking and controlling Chandrayan-1 over the next two year of its life span. Since its launch, Chandrayan-1 has performed several engine burns, moving it into the designated geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) around earth and has successfully communicated with base centre. Once in GTD Chandrayan-1 on board, motor will be fired to increase its orbit around the earth. This orbit will take the spacecraft to the vicinity of the moon. The spacecraft will rotate for about five and half days before firing the engine to slow its velocity for moon’s gravity to capture it. As the spacecraft approaches the moon, its speed will be reduced to enable the gravity of the moon to capture it into an elliptical orbit. A series of engine burns will then lower its orbit to its intended 100 km circular polar orbit. Following this the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) will be ejected from Chandrayan-1 and all the scientific instruments/pay loads are commissioned.

Chandrayan-1 completed four orbits around the earth on 23, October. The working of spacecraft is normal and (it is) doing fine. Spinning in elliptical orbit once is every six hours and 30 minutes, it has completed four orbits and is in the fifth orbit. The first orbit raising manoeuvre of Chandrayan-1 space craft was performed at 9.00 hours 1ST on 23 October 2008 when the spacecraft 440 Newton Liquid Engine was fired for about 18 minutes by commanding the spacecraft from Space Craft Control Centre (SCC) at ISRO Telemetry, tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Peenya, Bangalore

Chandrayan-1 spacecraft takes about eleven hours to go around the earth once

The mission includes five ISRO payloads and six payloads from other international space agencies including NASA, ESA and the Bulgarian Aerospace Agency, which are being carried free of cost. The cost of this project is estimated Rs. 3.86 billion. This project is not an entertainment but has some important aims.

The scientific objectives of the mission are:

To design, develop and launch a spacecraft around the Moon using Indian made launch vehicle.

To conduct scientific experiments using instruments on-board the spacecraft which will yield the following results:

To prepare a three-dimensional atlas (with high spatial and altitude resolution of 5-10 m) of both near and far side of the moon.

To conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface for distribution of mineral and chemical elements such as Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Calcium, Iron and Titanium as well as high atomic number elements such as Radon, Uranium & Thorium with high spatial resolution.

To impact a sub-satellite ( Moon Impact Probe -MIP ) on the surface of the Moon as a fore-runner to future soft landing missions.

Specifications

Mass-1380 kg at launch, 675 kg at lunar orbit, and 523 kg after releasing the impactor.

Dimensions—Cuboid in shape of approximately 1.5 m

Communications—X band, 0.7 m diameter parabolic antenna for payload data transmission. The Telemetry, Tracking & Command (TTC) communication operates in S band frequency.

Power—The spacecraft is mainly powered by its solar array, which includes one solar panel covering a total area of 2.15 x 1.8 m generating 700 W of power, which is stored in a 36 A•h Lithium-ion battery. The spacecraft uses a bipropellant integrated propulsion system to reach lunar orbit as well as orbit and altitude maintenance while orbiting the Moon.

Specific areas of study

High-resolution mineralogical and chemical imaging of permanently shadowed north and south polar regions.

Search for surface or sub-surface water-ice on the Moon, specially at lunar poles.

Identification of chemical end members of lunar high land, rocks.

Chemical stratigraphy of lunar crust by remote sensing of central upland of large lunar craters, South Pole Aitken Region (SPAR) etc., where interior material may be expected.

To map the height variation of the lunar surface features along the satellite track.

Observation of X-ray spectrum greater than 10 kV and stereo graphic coverage of most of the Moon’s surface with 5m resolution

To provide new insights in understanding the Moon’s origin and evolution.

Payloads—The scientific payload has a total mass of 90 kg and contains five Indian instruments and six foreign instruments.

Men behind the mission—The scientists considered instrumental to the success of the Chandrayaan-1 project are

1. Madhavan Nair = Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation
2. K. Alex – Director, ISAC (ISRO Satellite Centre)

        Mylswamy Annadurai – Project director

1. K. Shivkumar – Director – Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network.

        George Koshi –Mission Director

        Srinivasa Hegde – Mission Director

M Y S Prasad – Associate Director of the Sriharikota Complex and Range Operations Director

J N Goswami – Director of the Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory and Principal Scientific Investigator of Chandrayaan-1

Narendra Bhandari – Head. ISRO’s Planetary Sciences and Exploration program

President of India Pratibha Patil, Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari sent congratulatory messages to the space scientists for the successful launch.

Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh sent congratulatory messages to the space scientists for the successful launch and L. K. Advani, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha congratulated the ISRO scientists on launch.

USA President Barack Obama viewed the launch of Chandrayan as a challenge to the United States. He stated “We are reminded just how urgently we must revitalise our space programme, if we are to remain the undisputed leader in space, science, and technology”.

Chandrayan-1 reached the moon on November 8, 2008 successfully. Its liquid engine was fired again to insert the spacecraft into lunar orbit and Chandrayan-1 hoisted the Indian National flag on moon. The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) crash-landed on the lunar surface on 14 November-2008, 20 : 31 Indian Standard Time (1ST) near Shackleton Crater at the south pole. The MIP was one of eleven scientific instruments (payloads) onboard Chandrayan-1.

The MIP separated from Chandrayan at 100 km from lunar surface and began its nosedive at 20:06 Indian Standard Time (1ST) going into a free fall for thirty minutes. At it fell, it kept sending information back to the mother satellite which, in turn, beamed the information back to earth. The altimeter then also began recording measurements to prepare for a rover to land on the lunar surface during a second moon mission planned for 2012. When the MIP was slower to the surface, rockets were fired to slow down its speed and to soften impact.

Moon Missions till now

Soviet Union. Soviet Union’s space craft LOONAR was the first to approach to moon on 12 September, 1959.

America. NASA launched six spacecrafts of APOLO serial 1961 to 1972. USA launched APOLO-11 on 20 July 1969 to moon. Its spacecraft mission was successful. Astronaut Neil Armstrong and Edwin Eldrin were sent with spacecraft. Neil Armstrong was the first person to land on moon.

Thus this spacecraft Chandrayan-1 will collect important informations and unveil the mysteries of the moon till 2 years because moon has been very lovely, pretty and my sterious for scientists, children, lovers and loveless, literaturist, poets, etc.

Essay No. 02

Chandrayaan-1 India’s Moon Mission

India became the sixth country to launch Moon mission when Chandrayaan-1, a cuboid spacecraft built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), propelled into space on top of an improved Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh on the morning of Oct. 22, 2008.

The majestic take-off and flight of the Moon rocket was a magical moment that Indians-particularly our space scientists-had been eagerly and anxiously waiting for. Within minutes, the lift-off elevated India’s position in the world. As dawn broke over Sriharikota, the mighty brown and white 44.4-metre tall four-stage PSLV-C11 rose from the launch pad to carry the 1,400 kg spacecraft 3,84,000 km away to the Moon in the first leg of its mission. Chandrayaan-1 is scheduled to reach its orbit 100 km from the Moon Catchup on Nov. 8 and drop the Moon impact with an Indian tricolour painted on it on Nov. 15.

After its perfect launch, the spacecraft was guided by ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) located at Peenya which is the focal point of all the operational activities of Chandrayaan-1. The Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu is a key communication point for Chandrayaan- 1, with its 32-metre dish antenna, backed up by another 18-metre antenna dedicated to the mission. The Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC), also located at Byalalu, receives data from IDSN and the other external stations and processes, archives, retrieves and distributes to the user agencies including those that have placed payloads in the mooncraft.

The 35-kg Moon Impact Probe, (MIP) painted on all sides with the Indian tricolour landed on the Moon at 8.31 p.m. IST on Nov. 14. The MIP was attached to the top portion of the main lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1. The MIP got separated from the main craft and crash landed 32 km from the shackelton Crater in the Moon’s South Pole. The MIP carried Radar Altimeter, Video Imaging System and a Mass Spectrometer.

Aims of the Lunar Mission

Chandrayaan-1 will prepare a three-dimensional atlas of both the near and far side of the Moon for a deeper understanding.

It will conduct chemical and mineralogical mapping of the entire lunar surface to ascertain the distribution of natural resources on the lunar surface.

It will search for helium-3, considered among the cleanest fuels known. It is sparsely available on Earth. Scientists believe that if helium can be harnessed in nuclear reactors, it will go a long way in solving Earth’s power problems. While Earth may have only 15 tonnes of helium-3, Moon is thought to contain up to 5 million tonnes, enough to produce energy for 8,000 years.

It will search for water ice and study lunar rocks. The hunt for water is significant as ISRO has not ruled out the possibility of a manned lunar landing in the 2020s. Although none has been definitely detected, recent evidence suggests that there is water on the Moon.

Characteristics of Moon

Moon is the nearest celestial body to Earth and lies at a distance of about 3,84,000 km.

Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. It travels round the Earth once in 27.3 days and takes the same time to spin around its own axis. Thus, one hemisphere of the Moon (the ‘far-side’) is not visible to us.

Moon’s diameter is one-fourth the size of Earth and its mass is 1/81 of Earth.

Gravity on the surface of the Moon is only one-sixth of that on Earth.

Like Earth, the Moon too is a world without mountains, plateaus, plains, lowlands and, of course, craters.

Unlike Earth, the Moon does not have an atmosphere. Liquid water cannot exist on the Moon. But information from recent missions has raised the possibility of presence of water as ice in its polar regions.

Formation and evolution of our Moon is important in understanding the history of our solar system.

Studying the Moon and the Solar System

Chandrayaan- 1’s blasting off towards the Moon has been indicated as the hotting up of what is being described by many as the lunar gold rush. The presence of Helium-3, believed to be a clean and excellent fuel of the future, is just one of the reasons why countries want to literally reach for the Moon. One of India’s aims is to harvest helium-3, a nuclear fusion material. The Moon is thought to contain up to 5 million tonnes of helium-3. The other possibility is that the Moon is considered as an important link in understanding the formation and evolution of the solar system. Since it has no atmosphere, it is a place believed to be fossilized in time. It means that rocks which were created when the Moon was formed, still exist there-in a preserved state since no geological activity take place there, unlike the Earth.

One of the key objectives of Chandrayaan-1 is chemical mineral and topographic mapping using an array of cameras in different wavelengths. Since this spacecraft will move around in the lunar orbit for two years, it is expected to yield valuable, information, including the possible presence of water and helium 3. This makes an orbital mission like Chandrayaan. much more valuable than earlier Lander missions, which were limited to just a few regions.

Business in Space

Through the Antrix Corporation, with headquarters t Bangalore, ISRO offers a gamut of services related to spac ISRO has considerable experience in the design, manufactur launch and operation of both communication and remote-sen ing satellites. Through the highly successful INSAT and GSA programmes, Antrix has standardized three flight-proven sa ellite platforms in the weight class of 1,000 to 3,500 kg. Antr also offers sub-systems designed for effective integration, i cluding spacecraft structure, thermal mechanisms, power sy tems, communication systems and attitude orbit control sy tems. Antrix also claims a huge customer base of compani like the Israel Aircraft Industries, EADS, Mitsubishi Electr Inmarsat and Eutelsat. It has been selling its high-qualifii imagery through the Space Imaging Corporation of the US f the past decade or so. Now India is looking at designing a capsule that can car two humans on board our GSLV rocket. It is a maj technological challenge to develop this technology, select ai train astronauts and upgrade the launch vehicle. The proje report has been cleared by the Space Commission and Ind hopes to have its first manned mission to Moon before 2015 a cost of Rs. 12,000 crore.