The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that it will be launching Mission Mars-2 (also known as Mangalyaan-2), the second interplanetary mission of India to Mars, Indian media reported.
The Mangalyaan-2 mission will study the atmosphere and climate and ascertain if life is possible on the red planet. However, the spacecraft won’t be landing on Mars, media reports suggested.
As per media reports, Mars Orbiter Mission-2 (MOM-2) will carry four payloads and be launched by a GSLV MK III rocket.
All payloads will contain scientific instruments that will study aspects of the barren planet, including interplanetary dust, the Martian atmosphere, and the environment.
Satellite center of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in Bangalore, India. File photo
© AP Photo / Aijaz Rahi
What Will Mangalyaan-2 Consist of?
The payload will include a Mars Orbit Dust Experiment (MODEX), a Radio Occultation (RO) experiment, an Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS), and a Langmuir Probe and Electric Field Experiment (LPEX).
MODEX: will help understand the origin, abundance, distribution, and flux at high altitudes on Mars.
Radio Occultation (RO): will measure neutral and electron density profiles. This will be a microwave transmitter operating at X-band frequency that can help understand the behaviour of the Mars atmosphere.
EIS: will help in characterising solar energy and supra-thermal solar wind particles in the Martian environment. The instrument will also aid in our understanding of the red planet's loss of its atmosphere eons ago.
LPEX: will help in measuring electron number density, electron temperature, and electric field waves, which will help in ascertaining the plasma environment on the planet.
Mars
© Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP
What is India’s Mission to Mars All About?
MOM was launched on board a PSLV-XL on 5 November 2013. After a 298-day transit, it was put into Mars orbit on 24 September 2014.
As per the Indian Space Agency, the objectives of this mission were: “technological and include design, realisation and launch of a Mars Orbiter spacecraft capable of operating with sufficient autonomy during the journey phase; Mars orbit insertion / capture and in-orbit phase around Mars”.
Additionally, it also took some of the most stunning pictures of the red planet to date.
Interestingly, the cost of the mission was as low as INR 4.5 billion (approx. $73 million), less than the budget of the Hollywood movie The Martian (2015).
The mission was originally planned for six months, until March 2015, however, it stayed in touch with Earth until 2022. In April 2022, communications were lost, possibly due to an exhaustion of fuel resources.