The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says it can launch a probe to the moon within five years of getting a green light from the country's political leadership. According to ISRO Chairman Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, the expertise and technological infrastructure needed for the mission are available within the country.
The ISRO hopes to get the go-ahead from the Indian government for the project by the middle of this year. Dr. George Joseph, the former Director of the Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Center (SAC) has been chosen to lead the ISRO's lunar task force.
India's plan for a lunar mission deviates from the its space program's basic approach of harnessing the potential of space technology to boost the country's socio-economic development.
"We don't have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of moon or planets or unmanned flights," Dr. Vikram A. Sarabhai, the architect of the Indian space program, observed almost three decades ago. "But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problem of man and society which we find in our country," he added.
The ISRO believes that India's overall economic growth (and advances in the areas of research and technology) now permits a lunar mission that would propel the country into the forefront of cutting-edge research. It's also hoped that the lunar mission will give fresh momentum and new direction to the Indian space program in, much the same way that the 1969 U.S. moon landing contributed to a surge in technological and industrial growth.
With China planning to launch a lunar probe in association with the European Space Agency (ESA), the ISRO is keen not to be left out of the race. And the ISRO also hopes that the Indian lunar mission can serve as a test bed for future missions to other planets in the years ahead.
Of course, the Indian lunar mission is not without its quota of critics. Dr. H.S. Mukunda, Chairman of the Aerospace Department of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore is not fascinated by India's proposed lunar mission.
"Why don't we work on something pathbreaking?" he says. "Why do we need to do something that has already been done 30 years ago and many times over?"
Targeting the Moon's Remaining Mysteries
Although American and Russian probes have investigated the moon in depth, many aspects of lunar dynamics are far from well understood. Conclusive proof of recent observations suggesting water's presence on the lunar surface and many other similar questions can be answered through a string of missions to moon. Among the observations with an Indian lunar probe could help solve are:
-- Extensive investigation of particles and radiation enviornment in the vicinity of the moon
-- Understanding distribution of rare elements through gamma ray spectrometer readings
-- Study of detailed aspects of surface composition and subgroups of rocks
-- Detailed mapping with high resolution stereoscopic photography
However, for the time being, building a spacecraft for a soft landing on the lunar surface to collect and transmit realtime data will be tough nut for the ISRO to crack.
The most feasible and economically viable option is to send an orbiter. The Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), is well-equipped to fabricate the experimental payload for the mission, and the Bangalore-based ISRO Satellite Centre's advanced facilities are capable of designing and developing an indigenous lunar orbiter.
Boosters Will Need a Boost
Preliminary analysis by ISRO reveals that India's pair of space boosters -- the 294-metric-ton Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and 401-metric-ton Geosynchronous Satellite LaunchVehicle (GSLV) could be utilized for sending the Indian lunar probe to its destination.
With four alternate liquid and solid fuel stages, the PSLV was designed to launch one metric ton-class earth observation satellites into a polar orbit. The three-stage GSLV, first launched in April, 2001, has a Russian-supplied cryogenic upper stage designed to boost 2.5-metric-ton class INSAT satellites into geosynchronous orbit. An an upgraded Mark-3 version capable of orbiting a 4.8-metric-ton spacecraft is in the works.
According to ISRO sources, augmenting the PSLV with a Translunar Injection Stage carrying 2,200 kilograms of fuel will let the booster send a 530-kg. spacecraft on a flyby mission or a 350-kg.spacecraft into a lunar orbit. Similarly augmenting the GSLV with 3400 kilograms of additional fuel will permit sending a 850-kg to 950-kg. spacecraft on a flyby mission and a 600-kg. spacecraft to orbit the moon.
Meanwhile, the ISRO is busy promoting the PSLV as cost-efficient booster for low earth and medium earth missions. During a flight last October, a PSLV successfully launched a German research satellite and a European technology probe as piggyback payloads, along with an Indian TES (Technology Experiment Satellite) with a one-meter resolution earth imaging system.
advertisement
