The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the country’s premier
space agency, has been constantly in the news for carrying out record breaking
space expeditions. From launching a successful mission to the moon
through Chandrayaan and to Mars, through Mangalyaan, to creating history by
launching 104 satellites at one go on board the PSLV-C37 in February, this
year, ISRO has been making the country proud through its achievements.
ISRO FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES
1.
ISRO is also looking at an ambitious solar mission by
2019-20
OBJECTIVE:
The main objective being to study the Coronal Mass Ejection
(CME), evolution of the coronal magnetic field, etc. Conceptualised by
the Advisory Committee for Space Research, the probe is named Aditya L-1, weighs
about 400 kgs, and will be the first India solar mission.
While initially the
probe was meant to be a Low-Earth Orbiting Satellite, to study the sun’s outer
solar corona, A Satellite placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point
1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing
the Sun without any occultation/ eclipses.
Aditya-L1 with additional experiments can now provide observations of
Sun's Photosphere (soft and hard X-ray), Chromosphere (UV) and corona (Visible
and NIR). In addition, particle payloads will study the particle flux
emanating from the Sun and reaching the L1 orbit, and the magnetometer payload
will measure the variation in magnetic field strength at the halo orbit around
L1.
TECHNOLOGY & PAYLOADS:
The main payload
continues to be the coronagraph with improved capabilities. The main
optics for this experiment remains the same. The complete list of
payloads, their science objective and lead institute for developing the payload
is provided below:
Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC): To study the diagnostic parameters of
solar corona and dynamics and origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (3 visible and 1
Infra-Red channels); magnetic field measurement of solar corona down to tens of
Gauss – Indian
Institute of Astrophysics (IIA)
Solar Ultraviolet
Imaging Telescope (SUIT): To image the spatially resolved Solar Photosphere and
Chromosphere in near Ultraviolet (200-400 nm) and measure solar irradiance
variations - Inter-University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA)
Aditya Solar wind
Particle Experiment (ASPEX) : To study the variation of solar wind properties as well as its
distribution and spectral characteristics – Physical Research
Laboratory (PRL)
Plasma Analyser
Package for Aditya (PAPA) : To understand the composition of solar wind and its energy
distribution – Space Physics Laboratory (SPL), VSSC
Solar Low Energy X-ray
Spectrometer (SoLEXS) : To monitor the X-ray flares for studying the heating mechanism
of the solar corona – ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC)
High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray
Spectrometer (HEL1OS): To observe the dynamic events in the solar
corona and provide an estimate of the energy used to accelerate the particles
during the eruptive events - ISRO Satellite
Centre (ISAC)and Udaipur Solar Observatory (USO), PRL
Magnetometer: To measure the magnitude and nature of the
Interplanetary Magnetic Field – Laboratory for Electro-optic Systems (LEOS) and ISAC.
With the inclusion of
multiple payloads, this project also provides an opportunity to solar
scientists from multiple institutions within the country to participate in
space based instrumentation and observations. Thus the enhanced Aditya-L1
project will enable a comprehensive understanding of the dynamical processes of
the sun and address some of the outstanding problems in solar physics.
A
senior scientist from Isro said, while conceding the development, said:
"Right now we've got clearance for Aditya-L1 and we're focussed on
it."
Lagrangian point-1 (L1) is the point on the halo orbit that Isro is planning to place the first Aditya, the clearance for which has already come. "The point of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses, which is why the choice," Isro officials have maintained.
Rao explained that points L1 to L5 are five
points of maximum advantage on the Halo Orbit as discovered in the 1800s.
"Our second satellite will be placed at L5, which is behind the Earth and
will see the Sun five days before the Earth sees it and that will give us scope
to study the Sun from two different points," Rao said.
2. MARS ORBITER MISSION (MOM) - MANGALYAAN 2
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), or Mangalyaan is India’s first mission to Mars that was launched on September 24, 2014 from Sriharikota on top of a PSLV C25 rocket.
After testing success with its Mangalyaan 1, ISRO plans to launch the second Mars Orbiter Mission to explore the red planet Mangalyaan 2 in the 2021-2022 time frame. the Mangalyaan 2 was given the greenlight in the 2017 budget proposal, and in January 2016, India signed a letter of intent with France's CNES to joinly build the Mangalyaan 2.
OBJECTIVES:
OBJECTIVES:
SPACECRAFT:
Lunar orbiter basic architecture derived from the IRS satellite bus
2. MARS ORBITER MISSION (MOM) - MANGALYAAN 2
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), or Mangalyaan is India’s first mission to Mars that was launched on September 24, 2014 from Sriharikota on top of a PSLV C25 rocket.
After testing success with its Mangalyaan 1, ISRO plans to launch the second Mars Orbiter Mission to explore the red planet Mangalyaan 2 in the 2021-2022 time frame. the Mangalyaan 2 was given the greenlight in the 2017 budget proposal, and in January 2016, India signed a letter of intent with France's CNES to joinly build the Mangalyaan 2.
OBJECTIVES:
Future Mars missions
are focusing on 'in situ surface/subsurface' probing by landers and rovers, with
orbiters continuing studies of Martian surface and sub-surface and also serving
as continued communication link to Earth. An orbiter mission with focused
science objectives can provide valuable global Mars science.
Among the most important tasks of the new
mission will be to conduct experiments to confirm the presence of methane,
which the AO document says is ‘yet to be confirmed unambiguously.’
One of the objectives could be to conduct new measurements
to quantify the loss of atmospheric water and carbon dioxide.
In it’s AO document, ISRO states that the new
Mars missions provide an opportunity to explore planetary evolutionary
processes, how and whether life arose elsewhere in the solar system, and the
interplay between geological and possible biological history. Therefore, the
new mission is expressed to address questions related to these fields.
PAYLOADS
The payload capability
of the proposed satellite is likely to be 100kg and 100W. However final
values are to be tuned based on the final configuration. The apoareon of
the orbit is expected to be around 5000 km.
It outlines that the
payload capability of the proposed satellite is likely to be 100-kg and 100W
and states that the apoareon of the orbit is expected to be around 5,000-km.
The apoareon is the highest point of an
orbit around Mars. MOM-1, which is in a highly elliptical orbit, currently has
an apoareon of ~77,000 km. An apoareon of 5,000 km for MOM-2 implies a much
more circular orbit, in turn setting the context in which prospective
investigators can think about what kind of science can be done.
3. INDIA EYES ON NEXT MISSION TO VENUS
India's
maiden mission to Venus, the second planet of the Solar System named after the
Roman goddess of love and beauty, is in all probability going to be a modest
orbiter mission.
Watkins
said a mission to Venus is very-very worthwhile as so little is understood
about that planet and Nasa would definitely be willing to partner in India's
maiden voyage to Venus.
Towards
that, Nasa and Isro have already initiated talks this month on trying to
jointly undertake studies on using electrical propulsion for powering this
mission.
India's original inter-planetary dreamer K
Kasturirangan, former chairman of Isro, says, "India should be part of
this global adventure and exploring Venus and Mars is very worthwhile since humans
definitely need another habitation beyond Earth."
“Studies are going on and it may take
few years from now to have a concrete plan,” M Nageswara Rao, Associate
Director, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said at a plenary session
on science technology at the Indian Science Congress here.
He added that the chance of launching
a satellite to Venus comes once in 19 months, considering the distance and
earth’s position.
Venus, second in order from the Sun,
is nearly 162 million miles away from Earth while Jupiter, which lies between
Mars and Saturn, is nearly 610 million miles away from Earth.
“Beyond that, Mars
second mission and Venus mission are all on the horizon, we have to go through
the various studies and then formulate, get the approval and move. Right now,
they are all in the study phase,” Kiran Kumar was quoted as saying by PTI.
Due to similarities in
size, mass, density, bulk composition and gravity, Venus is often
described as the “twin sister” of the Earth. It is also believed that both
planets share a common origin, forming at the same time out of
a condensing nebulosity around 4.5 billion years ago. The planet is around
30 per cent closer to the sun as compared to Earth resulting in much higher
solar flux.
ISRO said the planet
has been explored by flyby, orbiter, a few lander missions and atmospheric
probes with explorations beginning in the 1960s.
ISRO said there
still exist gaps in our basic understanding about surface/sub-surface features
and processes, super rotation of Venusian atmosphere and its evolution and
interaction with solar radiation/solar wind, all of which make the mission
even more important.
ISRO also said that
the payload capability of the proposed satellite is likely to be 175 kg
with 500W of power. The proposed orbit is expected to be around 500 x 60,000 km
around Venus, and the orbit is likely to be reduced gradually over several
months. A mission to explore
Venus was first mentioned in the Department of Space demands for grants
2017–18.
ISRO is expected to
launch its second lunar mission Chandrayaan 2 during the first quarter of 2018. Michael M Watkins, Director
of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA, had on a visit to India in February,
said that since so little is understood about Venus that a mission to the
planet is very-very worthwhile. He also added that NASA would definitely
be willing to partner in India’s maiden voyage to the planet. It is reported
that NASA and ISRO had already initiated talks in February on trying to jointly
undertake studies on using electrical propulsion for powering this mission.
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20030022668.pdf
4. CHANDRAYAAN 2
India's second mission to the Moon is a totally indigenous mission comprising of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover. After reaching the 100 km lunar orbit, the Lander housing the Rover will separate from the Orbiter. After a controlled descent, the Lander will soft land on the lunar surface at a specified site and deploy a Rover.
The mission will carry a six-wheeled Rover which will move around the landing site in semi-autonomous mode as decided by the ground commands. The instruments on the rover will observe the lunar surface and send back data, which will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil.
The Chandrayaan-2 weighing around 3290 kg and would orbit around the moon and perform the objectives of remote sensing the moon. The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.
OBJECTIVES:
Investigate the origin and evolution of the moon with the improved version of chandrayaan 1. Instruments for imaging, mineralogy, and chemical analysis.
study of lunar radiation environment with alpha and neutron spectrometers.
SPACECRAFT:
Lunar orbiter basic architecture derived from the IRS satellite bus
Russian Lunar Lander
Indian Lunar Orbiter and Rover
In-situ analysis of Lunar regolith by instruments carried by lander and rover.
5. NISAR (FIRST RADAR IMAGING SATELLITE)
A collaborative project between ISRO and the American space agency, NASA, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR will be the world’s most expensive earth-image satellite, once built. NISAR will also be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequency, and will provide an unprecedented detailed view of the Earth.
OBJECTIVE
The satellite will be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual
frequency and it is planned to be used for remote sensing to observe and
understand natural processes of the Earth.
Using advanced radar imaging that will provide an unprecedented, detailed view of Earth, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR, satellite is designed to observe and take measurements of some of the planet's most complex processes, including ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides.
Data collected from NISAR will reveal information about the evolution and state of Earth's crust, help scientists better understand our planet's processes and changing climate, and aid future resource and hazard management.
TECHNOLOGYThese include radar imaging, polarimetry, and interferometry techniques, along with the SweepSAR technology employed for full-resolution wide-swath imaging.Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar which is used to create images of objects, such as landscapes, these images can be either two or three dimensional representations of the object. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a targeted region to provide finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional beam-scanning radars.Polarimetry is the measurement and interpretation of the polarization of transverse waves, most notably electromagnetic waves, such as radio or light waves, used in remote sensing applications, such as planetary science and weather radar.Interferometry is a family of techniques in which waves, usually electromagnetic, are superimposed in order to extract information about the waves.SATELLITE DESIGN
The satellite design will make use of a large deployable mesh antenna and will operate on dual L-band and S-band
L band, as defined by the IEEE, is the 1 to 2 GHz range of the radio spectrum is to be produced by NASA.
The band also contains the hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen, which is of great astronomical interest as a means of imaging the normally invisible neutral atomic hydrogen in interstellar space.
APPLICATIONSWater resource monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, and other value-added applications will also be revolutionized by access to these data. They will be a reliable source over the life of the mission for proactive planning for disasters, and will have a store of pre-disaster images available to rapidly and unambiguously understand what transpired in the disaster, leading to the development of actionable applications that could inform the government for consideration of future operational missions.
TECHNOLOGY
Chandrayaan-2 will be launched to the moon on board the GSLV Mk II. ISRO is still currently developing the engine that will help steer and land the Chandrayaan-2 on the Moon.
Just the rover itself weighs about 20 kg, and will function solely on solar power. It uses six wheels to navigate across the surface, and will collect rock and soil samples to be analysed and the data it gathers will be transmitted back to Earth. Meanwhile, Chandrayaan-2's orbiter weighs 1,400 kg, and the lander 1,250 kg.
Chandrayaan 2 will soft-land its lander with the rover on the lunar surface to conduct the next level of scientific studies.
“Things are going on. The orbiter is getting ready. Flight integration activity is going on, and a series of tests
“Things are going on. The orbiter is getting ready. Flight integration activity is going on, and a series of tests
are planned for lander and rover. They are all in progress and we are working towards the first quarter (of 2018) launch of Chandrayaan-2,” ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar told PTI. Officials said rover flight systems test include “soil mixing exercise” and mobility test to evaluate the rover’s wheel-soil interaction.
According to them, the lander configuration has been finalised to meet soft and safe landing at the identified
site, as also payload configuration and interfaces with the lander. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had also established a lunar terrain test facility for conducting lander leg drop tests. “It is a totally Indian mission; no other collaboration,” Kiran Kumar said.
“It (Chandrayaan-2) differs from the previous one (Chandrayaan-1) in the sense that in the last one, we had moon impact probe that descended on the moon in an uncontrolled manner, whereas this (Chandrayaan-2) will carry a lander, which will descend on the surface of the moon in a controlled manner,” he said. After the lander lands on the moon, the rover will come out and it will do some in-situ observations and we will be able to get these observations through radio contact, Kiran Kumar said.
A collaborative project between ISRO and the American space agency, NASA, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR will be the world’s most expensive earth-image satellite, once built. NISAR will also be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequency, and will provide an unprecedented detailed view of the Earth.
Using advanced radar imaging that will provide an unprecedented, detailed view of Earth, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, or NISAR, satellite is designed to observe and take measurements of some of the planet's most complex processes, including ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides.
Data collected from NISAR will reveal information about the evolution and state of Earth's crust, help scientists better understand our planet's processes and changing climate, and aid future resource and hazard management.
TECHNOLOGYThese include radar imaging, polarimetry, and interferometry techniques, along with the SweepSAR technology employed for full-resolution wide-swath imaging.Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar which is used to create images of objects, such as landscapes, these images can be either two or three dimensional representations of the object. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a targeted region to provide finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional beam-scanning radars.Polarimetry is the measurement and interpretation of the polarization of transverse waves, most notably electromagnetic waves, such as radio or light waves, used in remote sensing applications, such as planetary science and weather radar.Interferometry is a family of techniques in which waves, usually electromagnetic, are superimposed in order to extract information about the waves.SATELLITE DESIGN
The satellite design will make use of a large deployable mesh antenna and will operate on dual L-band and S-band
L band, as defined by the IEEE, is the 1 to 2 GHz range of the radio spectrum is to be produced by NASA.
The band also contains the hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen, which is of great astronomical interest as a means of imaging the normally invisible neutral atomic hydrogen in interstellar space.
APPLICATIONSWater resource monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, and other value-added applications will also be revolutionized by access to these data. They will be a reliable source over the life of the mission for proactive planning for disasters, and will have a store of pre-disaster images available to rapidly and unambiguously understand what transpired in the disaster, leading to the development of actionable applications that could inform the government for consideration of future operational missions.
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