Chandrayaan-1:ISRO's first lunar mission

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Chandrayaan-1
It was the lunar probe of ISRO mission under Chandrayaan program.It was launched on October 22, 2008 and operated until August 2009.It was the first lunar mission of ISRO
It includes a lunar orbiter and impactor.It was inserted in lunar orbit on November 8,2008.
ISRO launched this satellite using a PSLV-XL rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre,at Sriharikota,Andhra Pradesh.
The estimated cost for the project was US$54 million.

Specifications of Chandrayaan-1
Mass-1380 kg at launch
          675 kg at lunar orbit
          523 kg after releasing the impactor
Dimensions-Cuboid in shape of  approximately 1.5m(4.9 ft)
Communication-X band,0.7m(2.3 ft)diameter dual gimballed parabolic antenna for payload data transmission.The Telemetry,Tracking and Command (TTC) communication operates in S band frequency.
Power-The satellite was mainly powered by solar array,which include one solar panel covering a total area of 2.15×1.8m(7.1×5.9ft)generating 750 W of peak power,which was stored in a 36 A.h lithium ion battery for use during eclipses.
Propulsion-The  satellite used a biproprellant integrated propulsion system to reach lunar orbit as well as orbit and altitude maintenance while orbiting the moon.The power plant consisted of one 440 N engine and eight 22 N thrusters.Fuel and oxidizer were stored in two tanks of 390 litres each.
Navigation and control-The craft was 3-axis stabilized with two star sensors,gyros and four reaction wheels.The craft carried dual redundant bus management units for altitude control,sensor processing,
antenna processing,etc.


Achievements of Chandrayaan-1
  • The moon mission discovered the presence of water molecules in lunar soil and the presence of ice in the polar region.This is considered to be one of the biggest scientific discoveries for space research across the world.
  • Apart from detecting the presence of water molecules,the data collected through the microwave sensor of Chandrayaan-1 detected a good amount of past tectonic activity on the lunar surface.
  • The mineral content on the lunar surface was mapped through Moon Minerology Mapper and the presence of iron was confirmed,along with changes in rock composition.
 Was Chandrayaan-1 a successful mission and what was the impact of this mission on India?
Chandrayaan-1 operated for 312 days as opposed to the intended two years,but the mission achieved most of it scientific objectives.According to the scientist the mission was successful because it had completed it 95% of primary objectives.This mission was a major boost to India's space program,as India researched and developed its own
 technology in order to explore the moon.

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