India's Moon Mission Spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 has Textbook Launch
India has launched a moon mission designed to create the highest resolution 3D maps ofthe moon's surface and complete chemical mapping of the lunar soil. The Chandrayaan–1
spacecraft launched from Sriharikota, an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh at 06:22
local time. Lunar orbit is expected to commence in 5 days on 27th October.
The Chandryaan–1 craft cost $83 million and is expected to last two years. It will orbit
the moon 62 miles above the surface to perform experiments in the infrared, visible and
X–ray frequencies.
The spacecraft, which is carrying 11 instruments, weighs over 1300 kg — 5 scientific
Indian payloads and 6 from other space agencies. Chandrayaan–1 also has an impactor with
the Indian flag, that will hit the surface, thus throwing up dust to be analyzed by a
mass spectrometer built in India.
The two main objectives are to outline the lunar surface at a spatial resolution of 5–10
m and look for elements such as magnesium, uranium, iron and thorium.
Parameswaran Sreekumar, Head of Space Astronomy and Instrumentation at the ISRO
satellite centre in Bangalore said many of the instruments are unique. “Chandryaan–1
provides a new national thrust in scientific research in space science, ...it will
energise the public and enthuse the academic community to take up planetary sciences.”
