Chandrayan I: India's First Lunar Probe

Jun 21, 2019, 10:53 IST

Chandrayaan-1 was India's first lunar probe. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor. It was launched  from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, by the PSLV C-11 on 22 October 2008. The spacecraft was orbiting around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon.

Chandrayaan-1 was India's first lunar probe. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor. It was launched  from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, by the PSLV C-11 on 22 October 2008. The spacecraft was orbiting around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon. The spacecraft carries 11 scientific instruments built in India, USA, UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria.

Mission Type

Remote Sensing, Planetary Science

Weight

1380 kg (Mass at lift off)

Onboard Power

700 Watts

Stabilization

3 - Axis stabilised using reaction wheel and attitude control thrusters, sun sensors, star sensors, fibre optic gyros and accelerometers for altitude determination.

Payloads

Scientific Payloads from India

a) Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC)

b) Hyper Spectral Imager (HySI)

c) Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI)

d) High Energy X - ray Spectrometer (HEX)

e) Moon Impact Probe(MIP)

Scientific Payloads from abroad

f) Chandrayaan-I  X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS)

g) Near Infrared Spectrometer (SIR - 2)

h) Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA)

i) Miniature Synthetic Aperture Radar (Mini SAR)

j) Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

k) Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM)

Launch Date

22 October 2008

Launch Site

SDSC, SHAR, Sriharikota

Launch Vehicle

PSLV - C11

Orbit

100 km x 100 km : Lunar Orbit

Mission life

2 years

NOTE: After the successful completion of all the major mission objectives, the orbit was raised to 200 km in May 2009.

Image source: www.isro.gov.in/

Hemant Singh is an academic writer with 7+ years of experience in research, teaching and content creation for competitive exams. He is a postgraduate in International
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