India?s Mars spacecraft is scheduled for a rendezvous with the red planet exactly after 100 days as it is coasting towards its target having covered almost 70 per cent of its journey.
On September 24, a very significant technological milestone of the Mars Orbiter Mission called Mars Orbit Insertion is planned, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), which is headquartered in Bengaluru said on Monday.
The spacecraft, which is racing towards its target in its 300-day voyage in deep space, is at a radio distance of 108 million km from earth. A signal takes six minutes to reach Earth from the probe.
The spacecraft and its five payloads are in good health, Isro said in a post on its Mars Orbit Mission Facebook page.
In a crucial milestone, Isro performed the second Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM-2) on the spacecraft on June 11 by firing onboard thrusters. Mid-course corrections are done to keep the spacecraft on course.
Another trajectory correction manoeuvre has been planned in August before the space agency performs the Mars Orbit Insertion in September.
The ambitious Mars mission was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on November 5 last year with the aim of reaching the red planet?s atmosphere by September 24 this year.
The Rs4.5 billion (Dh276.50 million) project is expected to provide the scientific community better opportunities in planetary research.
The spacecraft with five payloads has been configured to carry out observation of physical features of Mars and a limited study of the Martian atmosphere. Isro has incorporated autonomous features in the spacecraft to handle contingencies.
Source : Gulf News
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