Q. Consider the following statements:

The Mangalyaan launched by ISRO

  1. is also called the Mars Orbiter Mission
  2. made India the second country to have a spacecraft orbit the Mars after USA
  3. made India the only country to be successful in making its spacecraft orbit the Mars in its very first attempt

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

  • 1 only
  • 2 and 3 only
  • 1 and 3 only
  • 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Mangalyaan
  • The Rs 450 crore Mars Orbiter Mission was launched onboard PSLV-C25 on 5th November, 2013, and the MOM spacecraft was successfully inserted into the Martian orbit in September, 2014 in its first attempt.
  • Mangalyaan was India’s first interplanetary mission.
  • The mission made India the first Asian country, and the fourth in the world after Roscosmos, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and the European Space Agency, to get to the planet.
    • China referred to India’s successful Mangalyaan as the “Pride of Asia”.
  • Description:
    • It carried 850 kg of fuel and 5 science payloads including a Mars Color Camera (MCC) which it was using to study the Martian surface and atmosphere since entering orbit successfully.
      • The highly elliptical orbit geometry of MOM enabled MCC to take snapshots of the ‘Full disc’ of Mars at its farthest point and finer details from the closest point.
      • The MCC has produced more than 1000 images and published a Mars Atlas.
    • Other instruments are: Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS), Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) and Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP).
  • Objectives:
    • It was aimed at studying the Martian atmosphere.
    • To explore Martian surface features, mineralogy, morphology and atmosphere using indigenous scientific instruments.
    • A crucial objective of MOM was to develop technologies required in planning, designing, management and operations of an interplanetary mission.
Mangalyaan-2
  • Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (MOM 2), is a proposed second mission to Mars by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Mangalyaan-2 will only be an orbiter mission.
  • Mars Orbiter Mission-2 will carry four payloads to inspect certain characteristics of the Mars including its atmosphere, environment and the interplanetary dust.