How ISRO planned to launch Indian mission to Mars

The Mangalyaan Mission, also known as the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), has finally come to an end after its journey of just over 8 years. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) confirmed that the spacecraft had run out of fuel and had run out of batteries. The mission was planned for 6 months, but its survival for 8 years made it a great development in the space fraternity.

PSLV-C25 was launched by ISRO on November 5, 2013 and it was successfully launched into Mars orbit on September 24, 2014, just a few months short of 1 year since its launch. Here’s a timeline of the MOM mission and what it accomplished during its 8-year journey into Mars orbit.

Big launch date

ISRO initially planned the launch on 28 October 2013, but due to poor weather conditions in the Pacific Ocean, the space authority decided to postpone the launch date to 5 November 2013. NASA also participated in the mission, providing communication and navigation support with Deep Space Network. The PSLV-C25 mission for MOM was conceived at a total cost of Rs 450 crore, making it the least expensive Mars mission to date.

Transmarsin injection complete

On November 30, 2013, PSLV-C25 completed its heliocentric approach close to the Sun’s surface. From that moment, the probe was able to begin its journey to the orbit of Mars.

On the way to Mars through the Sun

The period from December 2013 to September 2014 is associated with the journey of the probe, which covered a distance of 780,000,000 km on the Hohmann transfer orbit around the Sun to Mars. During this period, the probe’s phasing plan included four trajectory corrections to ensure that the probe was inserted into Mars orbit in the correct position.

The MOM probe enters Mars orbit

On September 24, 2014, after the successful completion of the third trajectory correction, the probe was launched into Mars orbit.

The first global view of Mars

MOM controllers sent the first images of Mars on September 28, 2014. The photo was taken with a Mars color camera.

ISRO releases first Mars atlas

On 24 September 2015, ISRO released a 120-page Mars Atlas containing images and data from MOM, which has completed its first year in Mars orbit.

MOM’s orbit is modified to avoid the eclipse

MOM’s orbit was changed to avoid the eclipse season, which affects the performance of the vehicle’s built-in battery.

1000 days in Mars orbit

On May 19, 2017, MOM reached 1,000 days in orbit around Mars. It sent 715 images back to Earth and is reported to be in good condition.

Full image disc of Mars

On July 18, 2021, MCC managed to make a complete disk of Mars from an altitude of 75,000 km.

ISRO confirms that the Mangalyaan craft is not recoverable

Finally, after 8 years in Mars orbit, ISRO said it lost contact with the MOM spacecraft on October 3, 2022.

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