India's maiden lunar mission, the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft that launches on October 22, will orbit about 100 km from the lunar surface for two years, performing remote sensing of the dark side or hidden portion of the moon to unravel its mysteries, scientists working on the project said.
About 500 space scientists are working round-the-clock to launch India's maiden lunar mission next week.
The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will be launched on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C11 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota, about 90 km from Chennai and off the Bay of Bengal.
"Preparations are in full swing to send the Chandrayaan spacecraft on October 22 between 6.15 am and 6.35 am though 6.21 am is the most optimal time for lift-off, as moon is inclined 28 degrees towards earth at the equator," SDSC director M C Dathan said at a preview of the historic launch.
With the northeast monsoon a week away from the proposed launch date and weather forecast till October 26 being ideal in terms of wind movement and clear skies, scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are striving to integrate the 1,380-kg spacecraft with the 316-tonne rocket, fitted with six strap-on motors for the D-Day.
The 45-metre tall, updated version PSLV is the trusted workhorse launch vehicle of the Indian space agency, with a record of 12 consecutive launches since 1994.
The four-stage rocket is equipped with solid and liquid propellants that will fire the strap-on boosters to catapult Chandrayaan into the lunar orbit 18 days after the lift-off, on November 8.
"Though the launch window will be kept open October 22-26, the actual launch operation will commence October 17 (T-5) with formal countdown 50 hours before the lift-off, on October 20 at 4.30 am and the final countdown seconds before the rocket is fired by computers into the sky," Dathan said.
As India's first spacecraft mission beyond earth orbit, Chandrayaan is aimed at expanding our knowledge about earth's only natural satellite - moon.
Orbiting about 100 km from the lunar surface, the spacecraft will perform remote sensing of moon for about two years using 11 scientific payloads, including five instruments designed and developed indigenously.
"Moon is the nearest celestial body to earth at a distance of 384,000 km. Formation and evolution of moon are central to understanding the solar system. Though there have been many manned and unmanned lunar explorations, Chandrayaan will be the first spacecraft to explore the dark side or hidden portion of moon and unravel the mystery behind," SDSC deputy director MSN Prasad said at a demo of the lunar mission.
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