ISRO Confirms Mangalyaan Mission Over, Mars Orbiter Craft Non Recoverable

ISRO Confirms Mangalyaan Mission Over

The Indian Space Research Organisation confirmed that the Mars Orbiter craft has lost communication with a ground station. Since now it’s non-recoverable, the Mangalyaan mission has attained end-of-life.

The ISRO gave an update on the Mars Orbiter Mission and the national meet held on September 27 to commemorate the MOM, during the event of the eighth anniversary of the Mars Orbiter Mission.

The mission will be considered as an outstanding achievement of technology and science in the history of planetary exploration.

MOM was launched on November 5, 2013, and after concluding 300 days of interplanetary journey, it was inserted into the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014.

Despite being designed for a life span of six months as a technology demonstrator, the MOM has lived for about eight years in the Martian orbit with a gamut of significant scientific results on Mars as well as on the Solar corona, before losing communication with the ground station, as a result of a long eclipse in April 2022, the national space agency said.

During the national meet, ISRO deliberated that the propellant must have been exhausted, and therefore, the “desired altitude pointing” could not be achieved for sustained power generation, ISRO said.

“Equipped with five scientific payloads onboard, during these eight years, the mission has gifted significant scientific understanding on the Martian surface features, morphology, as well as the Martian atmosphere and exosphere,” ISRO said.

FAQs Related to Mars Orbiter Mission

Q1. What is the key objective of the Mars Orbiter mission?
Ans. It aims to test key technologies for interplanetary exploration and to use its five science instruments to study the Martian surface and atmosphere from orbit.

Q2. Which rocket is used in Mangalyaan?
Ans. PSLV-c25

Q3. Which country landed on Mars first?
Ans. Mariner 4 of the USA was the first craft to finally reach Mars.