India Plans To Launch Mission Mars in 2013


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India plans to launch a mission to Mars next year, putting an orbital probe around the red planet to study its climate and geology, top space department officials said on Thursday.

The mission would mark another step in India's ambitious space programme, which envisages the Asian giant's first manned mission in 2016.

"We will embark on the Mars mission after the Department of Science gives the green signal and decides the schedule early next year," Deviprasad Karnik, director of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told AFP.

A 320-tonne Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket will be used to carry the orbiter spaceship, blasting off from the ISRO launch site at Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Another senior official at ISRO, requesting anonymity, estimated the cost of the mission at 4.0-5.0 billion rupees ($70-90 million dollars).

The central government earmarked 1.25 billion rupees for the project in the last federal budget.

India began its space programme in 1963 and has developed its own satellites and launch vehicles to cut dependence on overseas agencies.

In September, 2009, India's Chandrayaan-1 satellite discovered water on the moon, boosting the country's credibility among established space-faring nations.

But the space programme suffered a major setback in December 2010 when a satellite launch vehicle blew up and fell into the Bay of Bengal after veering from its intended flight path.

India plans to launch Mars mission in 2013: Officials - The Economic Times
 
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Re: India plans to launch Mars mission in 2013

No offence but curious. How does it help our nations economy ?
How does such investments benefits return?

One thing I would like to recall here and everywhere is, Indian governments has shown much unbelievable ignorance to electronics and semiconductor industry that we are still biting dust , so Chinese and Koreans products are having field day in India.

I wonder whats the basis of such indifference ?
 
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Re: India plans to launch Mars mission in 2013

No offence but curious. How does it help our nations economy ?
How does such investments benefits return?

One thing I would like to recall here and everywhere is, Indian governments has shown much unbelievable ignorance to electronics and semiconductor industry that we are still biting dust , so Chinese and Koreans products are having field day in India.

I wonder whats the basis of such indifference ?
Agree with you on this instead of investing money on building basic infrastructure like electricity across the nation, they are pouring money on this space odyssey which will not help humanity in any way.
 
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Re: India plans to launch Mars mission in 2013

they are pouring money on this space odyssey which will not help humanity in any way.
Visran,
Its not correct.

Jayadev got at least one point in his post.

People said the same thing when money was spend on Computer research. That was 3 decades ago.

You will tell similar words to an younger generation 30 years later when they ridicule some research in a new area.

Its too late today. Shall try to explain tomorrow about some benefits to humanity from such a mission.
 
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You will tell similar words to an younger generation 30 years later when they ridicule some research in a new area.

Its too late today. Shall try to explain tomorrow about some benefits to humanity from such a mission.
My question is ,
Is India ready yet for the sake of "BOOSTING CREDIBILITY AMONG THOSE ESTABLISHED ONE'S ?"

And why this negligence to most basic subsistence .
we all are aware Chinese and Korean products are always cheaper. have we ever thought why we cannot produce cheap in India ?

I am an Electronics engineers by qualification but I cannot even Imagine doing something of my own in my home land, other than serving someone else's firm for peanuts or in Administrative sectors.

An electronic or electrical component in USA or china costs quarter the price of what we can buy in India and since last 3 decades there has been no inputs from our government.

Same is trait of Automotive sectors I believe

Now space missions are not going to help guys like me or my kids at least as of now.
 
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Your post has compelled me to THINK. But I feel I am not qualified enough to comment on it. What autosafari says is true. But jayadev has a valid point too. Space missions are important, but we (read government) are not doing things which are more important for the nation.
At this rate it might take us 20 years to reach where China is. And China would have advanced manyfolds in that time. So the question is very much valid.
 
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Jayadev has got a point in his statement as I said in my first post.
Our government ignored Electronic Industry and we don't have a genuine foundry yet. Eventhough some efforts are on its not gathering steam and we are laggards here.

Agree with Visran that we ignored basic infrastructure development. What happened to Northern and Eastern grids a few days ago should be an eye opener to any Government. {Our Minster rather chose to propaganda and ascertained that we have the world's best power grid system}
There are numerous examples of lack of vision and will and pathetic infrastructure as a result of that.

Having said that, would like to emphasis that we cannot say space missions are waste of money which will not help humanity in any way.

Also its not that we are doing this just to establish ourselves amoung developed nations by this mission.

Space missions are for a purpose and they also benefit the society and this beneficial effects can be social, scientific, economic and also in our day to day life in several ways.

A major space project like a moon mission or a mars mission helps to

  • Evolve new technologies and scientific development.
  • Rekindle scientific spirit amoung the young generation.
  • Spin off inventions and developments helpful in Medical fields and general industry
- PU foot (Artificial foot prothesis)
Development of PU foams by ISRO for rocket motor applications has resulted in an important spin off in the form of artificial foot prosthesis. PU foot developed by ISRO has numerous advantages over the traditional Jaipur foot. This technology has been transferred to Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahayta Samithi (BMVSS), Jaipur a social service organisation. The license was given free of charges and is targeted to provide more than 20,000 foot per year for non commercial purposes.

- ACRAMID is yet another space spin off from ISRO developed from composites technology. It is used for fixed prosthodontic restoration when a tooth is lost.

- Polycleanse. A Skin barrier cream developed by ISRO as a spin off. Application in chemical industries, polymer industries, rubber industries, oil refineries, automobiles, workshops and propellant plants. The product has been cleared for tropical application by Industrial Toxicological Research Centre (ITRC).

- Automobile adhesives. Another spin off by ISRO. Main advantages are improved stress distribution, weight saving, noise and vibration reduction, corrosion prevention, ease of joining dissimilar materials, sealing of joints, improved stress distribution and aesthetic appearance.

- Fire extinguishing powder OLFEX. This spin off development is transferred to some commercial organisations and slowly replacing the imported and costly MONNEX.

There are several examples like this.
  • India is in the market to provide satellite launching services to other countries for a fee much less than what is charged by US and European Space Agency.
  • We are also trying to corner a market share in providing satellites to other countries.
To get customers and show our credibility we need to be in the forefront of space technology. Deep space missions defenitely help in this case.

So its business too.

To explain this in Automobile analogy, its equivalent to Car companies exhibiting futuristic concepts.

Further, some intangible benefits too.

Our Children are growing up with out any heroes to look up on.
They are thinking that hitting a sixer is the biggest heroism. Or able to drive movie ticket sales to a record with a charming face and looks.
If these space missions help to create a diffrent type of hero image in them then thats going to benefit the country and humanity immensely.
 
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Jayadev has got a point in his statement as I said in my first post.
Our government ignored Electronic Industry and we don't have a genuine foundry yet. Eventhough some efforts are on its not gathering steam and we are laggards here.

Agree with Visran that we ignored basic infrastructure development. What happened to Northern and Eastern grids a few days ago should be an eye opener to any Government. {Our Minster rather chose to propaganda and ascertained that we have the world's best power grid system}
There are numerous examples of lack of vision and will and pathetic infrastructure as a result of that.
...

Further, some intangible benefits too.

Our Children are growing up with out any heroes to look up on.
They are thinking that hitting a sixer is the biggest heroism. Or able to drive movie ticket sales to a record with a charming face and looks.
If these space missions help to create a diffrent type of hero image in them then thats going to benefit the country and humanity immensely.
Very Very informative post Sir[clap],you seem to know a lot about ISRO your post changed my perception over this topic.
 
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Thanks Visran for posting this news in TAI and bigger thanks to Autosafari for listing a few of the benefits of research so far. Much of the space research & findings may find suitable applications in days we are yet to see.

Well on lighter yet serious note:- If wishes were spaceships , TAI would soon have a member posting "Buggy" driving experience from Mars.
[:)]
 
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The Mars mission should not have been a priority at this stage for India which, instead, ought to have devoted time and energy on getting its rocket operational again and give momentum to the human space flight programme, former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair said.

"My personal opinion is: this (Mars mission) is not a big priority project for us. We should have concentrated more on qualifying the cryogenic engine (for GSLV-Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) and make our manned mission initiative move forward," Nair told PTI here.

The Union Cabinet last night gave go-ahead to the Mars mission, clearing the proposal of Department of Space to put a satellite in an orbit around Mars to study the Red Planet.
Nair, who has accomplished 25 successful missions during his tenure of six years as Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Secretary in the Department of Space, argued that for India, the manned mission (human space flight programme) is the "immediate priority".

"That's where the big gap is. The United States space shuttle has failed and they don't have a launch vehicle. Only Russians have an operating system. China went to the extent of creating a mini (space) station," he said.

"So, in that race India is lagging behind and unless we give a major thrust to Indian manned mission, I think we will be left behind." Nair said India's proposed Mars mission is "only a very small payload with not very big scientific objective".

"We cannot say we can make an impact even nationally or internationally in that (Rs 450 crore Mars mission).

Terming the Mars mission as a "peripheral thing", he said ISRO should, instead, spend its time and energy on qualifying the indigenous cryogenic engine and stage for GSLV (rocket) as also for GSLV-Mk III, which is being developed to carry four-tonne class of satellites.

Nair expressed the view that Mars mission is not a "big challenge". India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV rocket) has proven a number of times it can put satellites into highly elliptical orbit and "if you (Mars satellite) are in the right direction, it will go around Mars".
"It's not even as complex as Chandrayaan-1 mission. By increasing velocity, you will reach Mars. There is not much sophistication involved (in Mars mission) whereas moon mission (Chandrayaan-1) was complex."

Nair also noted that announcement by China that it would land an exploratory craft on the moon next year, and pointed out that India's own similar programme (Chandrayaan-2) has been put on a "low key" compared to the Mars mission, which ISRO plans to undertake in November next year with a 25 kg scientific payload.

"It shows that the priorities are not in the right direction," he said.

In an orbit of 500 x 80,000 km around Mars, the Indian orbiter can get only "very sketchy picture" of the Red Planet. "With highly elliptical orbit, it's not good for imaging".
This orbit might be good for "atmospheric sounding" but NASA has published enough data on Martian atmosphere and "I don't think we can add much value", he said.
But he acknowledged that the Indian orbiter will have a payload to detect the presence of methane. "If that's a success, then that could be a unique point.
GSLV flight with indigenous cryogenic engine and stage conducted by ISRO in April 2010 and the one with Russian engine and stage in December that year had failed. SRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan had said last month the space agency had done a lot of studies to find out the reason for the failure and taken corrective actions, and the cryogenic engine and flight stage should be ready by November.

The space agency needs to conduct two more ground tests thereafter before carrying out the flight, which is expected by the year-end or January next year.

When the Chandrayaan-I mission was launched in 2008, ISRO said Chandrayaan-2 venture would happen four years later (2012). The ISRO now says Chandrayaan-II mission is slated for 2014, after successfully conducting two GSLV flights.

On human space flight programme, ISRO conducted initial studies for four years from 2002 to examine the technological challenges.

In 2006, about 80 senior scientists from across the country who attended a meeting convened by ISRO, were highly appreciative of the study conducted by the space agency and unanimous in suggesting that the time is appropriate for India to undertake such a mission.

By the year 2008, ISRO officials had indicated that they are eyeing the 2015-2016 time-frame for the mission but the back-to-back failure of GSLV has put the clock back by at least a couple of years.

Manned mission should have been a priority, not Mars: Nair
 
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All is not well in ISRO.

Mr. G Madhavan Nair, a highly accomplished scientist was Chairman of ISRO, Secretary to the Department of Space, Government of India, He was also the Chairman of the Space Commission, and acted as the Chairman of Governing body of Antrix corporation.

He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian Order.

When he says something people should listen.

But in the current situation, one should take it with a pinch of salt.

Recently Goverment of India, in an unprecedented disciplinary action barred G Madhavan Nair from occupying any government position — current or in future for his role in the Antrix-Devas deal

He has resigned from his post as Chairman, Board of Governers of Indian Institute of Technology, Patna due to his involvement in Devas scandal.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has removed him from the Board of Directors following the Government decision.

The Comtroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) slams Madhavan Nair for Antrix-Devas deal.

The report by the government's auditor on the Antrix-Devas deal, formally submitted in Parliament. Antrix is the commercial arm of ISRO. In 2005, it signed a contract to allow Devas Multimedia access to precious S-Band spectrum. For this, Antrix would built two satellites with transponders leased to Devas. The deal was worth 1000 crores - greatly tilted in favour of Devas, according to experts. The deal was cancelled by the cabinet in February 2011, after media reports.

Some media reports mentioned this as bigger scam than 2G with an estimated potential loss of 2,00,000 crores to the country.

However, The Chaturvedi report (another committee which looked into the deal, observed that space and terrestrial spectrum had to be considered and priced differently.
 
Insat Coordination Committee (ICC), which was established in 1977 for the overall management of the Insat communication satellites, had not met since 2004, and was bypassed when 90 per cent of the capacity on the two custom-built satellites had been allocated to Devas.

Devas corporation is based at and registered in Bangalore. However the deal with ISRO treated it as an international customer entity and incorporated clauses for Arbitration in International court.
Any international agreement signed by a government department with arbitration clause has to be cleared by the legal cell of the department concerned and by the ministry of finance. This was not done in Antrix-Devas deal.

Mr. G Madhavan Nair has blamed the current ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan for misleading the government.

CAG while found fault with G Madhavan Nair, cleared PMO (Prime Minister's Office) which directly oversee Space Commission and Department of Space.

Entire episode is interlinked with Politics so we need not discuss that here.

We can see that Mars Mission budget is only 450 crores which is less than what is required for making and launching an INSAT sattellite.

A manned space mission is much more complex and expensive and its logical that ISRO takes time for that.

Chandranyan -II is supposed to have a lunar probe (a Moon SUV for Petrol heads) and needed some more technological development to design a moon lander which is not yet ready. So its natural that this mission will be delayed.

Even Mr. Madhavan Nair is acknowledging that the Indian orbiter will have a payload to detect the presence of methane and if that's a success, then it could be a unique point.

Its confusing when he says that Chandrayan -I (a mission to moon conducted when he was the Chairman of ISRO) was a complex project and Mars mission is an easy job.
 

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