Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission, has found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
Data from the spacecraft also suggests water is still being formed on the moon, the British newspaper said.
"It's very satisfying," the newspaper quoted Mylswamy Annadurai, the mission's project director at the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bangalore, as saying.
The newspaper said the breakthrough would be announced by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Thursday.
NASA's website says it will hold a media briefing at 1440 hrs (local time) on September 24 to "reveal new scientific findings about the moon" from data collected during national and international space missions.
The unmanned Indian craft was equipped with NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Has ISRO'S Chandrayaan-1 found water on moon? ISRO, NASA to clarify
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
ISRO to launch Oceansat-2, six European nano satellites
The stage is set for the launch on Wednesday of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for placing into orbit the country’s 16th remote sensing satellite, Oceansat-2, and six European nano satellites.
"The countdown is progressing well. The launch window is between 11:51 am (1151 hrs IST) and 12:06 pm (1206 hrs IST) tomorrow. The weather forecast is clear,” ISRO spokesman S Satish told IANS from the Sriharikota rocket launch centre around 80 km from Chennai on Tuesday.
"We don’t expect any last minute thrills or tension,” he added.
The 960 kg Oceansat-2 will be ejected into a sun-synchronous orbit 720 km above the earth and its moving coverage strip will be able to scan the entire planet.
The orbit is designed in such a way that the satellite will cross Equator at 12 noon near India.
A global leader in remote sensing data, India has so far launched 15 remote sensing satellites, of which nine are still in operation.
Oceansat-1, launched in 1999, is still in service but will slowly go into oblivion.
According to Satish, Oceansat-2 has a design life of five years and may outlive this like its earlier version.
Oceansat-2 will be used for identifying potential fishing zones, sea-state forecasting, coastal zone studies, weather forecasting and climate studies.
Apart from the ISRO-developed 76 kg Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Ku-band pencil beam Scatterometer, the satellite will also have a Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmospheric Studies (ROSA) developed by the Italian Space Agency.
The Scatterometer, with a ground resolution of 50 km x 50 km, is expected to provide accurate information on wind speed and direction.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Chandrayaan-1 was a success: astronaut Mike Fincke
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut Edward Michael Fincke said on Friday the Chandrayaan Mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was a success, with 95 per cent of the mission being accomplished.
Col. Fincke, popularly known as Mike Fincke, a veteran of two long-duration space missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS), said that though some people had raised speculation about the Chandrayaan Mission, the international scientific community felt the ISRO had accomplished its mission.
The astronaut — who has been selected by NASA as a mission specialist in the six- member crew for the Space Transportation System (STS)-134 for his third space flight in 2010 — was speaking to reporters on the penultimate day of his 12-day official visit to Assam and Meghalaya.
Col. Fincke’s visit and his interaction with students were facilitated by the Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS). He interacted with students of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati during the annual techno-management festival of IIT-G, Techniche 2009.
Summing up his experience of the visit, the astronaut said the people of the region were very kind and warm and the students and teachers incredibly capable and intelligent. He said that on his return he would speak to NASA officials as to how different channels of communication could be opened for students from the northeast region to take part in space programmes.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Funding of six GSLV operational flights approved
New Delhi (PTI): To meet the growing need for transponders for meteorological and navigational services, funding of six GSLV operational flights at an estimated cost of Rs 1281 crore was on Thursday approved by the Union Cabinet.
Of the total cost for the flights (F11 to F16), the foreign exchange component would account for Rs 273 crore, Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
With the realisation of six GSLV Operational Flights, end-to-end capability to launch communication satellites will be available during the 11th Five Year Plan.
The six flights are expected to be realised during 2010-12.
The INSAT and GSAT satellites being launched by operational flights have significantly augmented the INSAT system capacity for national development in the areas of communication, broadcasting and developmental communications including tele-medicine and tele-education.
At present the INSAT system has 211 transponders and its demand by the end of 11th Plan is expected to be about 500.
During the 11th Plan period and beyond, based on the demand profile of the transponders, it is envisaged to build and launch 12 GSAT series of satellites onboard the current version of GSLV. In view of this, the government proposes to undertake six additional GSLV operational flights (F11 to F16).
Courtesy:thehindu.com
Complete artical HERE
Monday, January 21, 2008
India successfully launches Israeli satellite 'Polaris'
SRIHARIKOTA: India on Monday "successfully" launched an Israeli satellite 'Polaris' from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here by a homegrown Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
This is the second time that a "core alone" PSLV configuration had put a satellite into orbit. In April 2007, an Italian satellite Agile was put into the orbit, the space agency spokesman said.
ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair, who was present when the satellite was launched at 0915 hours on Monday morning, was expected to brief the media about the "splendid achievement" later in the day, he said.
The launch of the radar-imaging, remote-sensing satellite, weighing about 300 kgs, was shrouded in secrecy.
ISRO had in the past announced date for its launches but it was not the case with this Israeli spacecraft.
The launch of the "spy satellite" was originally scheduled in September last year though no date was specified.
A section of the media speculated that the launch was abandoned following "pressure" from some countries, a claim strongly denied by Bangalore-headquartered ISRO, which cited non-resolution of technical issues as the reason for the delay.
Courtesy:timesofindia.com
Complete artical HERE
Thursday, December 13, 2007
India close to developing Agni-IV
India is close to developing ballistic missile Agni-IV, capable of hitting targets upto a range of 6,000 kms, country's top missile scientist Dr V K Saraswat said here on Wednesday.
He also said that the DRDO would carry out three more tests of nuclear capable 3,000 km. range Agni-III missiles over the next 12 months as a part of an initiative to develop an indigenous robust nuclear deterrent.
Though Sarswat said that Agni-IV was still in design stage, DRDO officials were of the view that the first trials of the missiles which would give India an almost inter-continental reach could be held by 2010.
On Agni-III tests, the DRDO official said the second trial of the missile would be done by June next year and more tests hopefully in another nine months to a year.
Agni-III, the indigenously developed two-stage all-solid fuel, 16-metre-long missile was first successfully test fired in April this year, after initial test failure.
The missile, with a range of 3,000 kms and capacity to carry a nuclear or conventional payload of 1.5 tonnes will give India the capability to reach remote Chinese mainland cities of Beijing and Shanghai.
Courtesy:thehindu.com
Complete artical HERE
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
India and Russia signed Joint lunar research....
Taking their technological cooperation to new heights, India and Russia today signed a ten-year pact for the joint lunar research involving the launches of spacecraft to the Moon using Indian launch vehicles.
The agreement signed on the sidelines of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's official visit by ISRO Chief Madhavan Nair and head of Russia's Federal Space
Agency "Roskosmos" Anatoly Perminov provides for the joint development of lunar orbiter, lander and rover and their launch with the help of GSLV from Indian space centre.
"The first mission will be solely Russian, but the second will be carried out jointly with India," General Director of Lavochkin Spacecraft Design Bureau Georgy Polishchuk told reporters.
According to Polishchuk, Russia would launch an unmanned Luna-Glob orbiter mission to the Moon in 2010. The second mission involving the landing of a new-generation 400-kg Lunokhod unmanned rover on the Moon will start in 2011.
Courtesy:news.digitaltoday.in
Complete artical HERE
Sunday, September 30, 2007
ISRO on GPS and Chadrayan
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is developing an India-specific navigation system in the lines of the Global Positioning System (GPS) at an investment of about Rs 1,600 crore. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), comprising seven satellites, will be ready in 2011-12, Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair said on Thursday.
The indigenously developed system will serve the country’s specific needs, providing infrastructure for generating data on position, navigation and timing. The data can also be used for various other applications such as agriculture, civil aviation and fisheries.
"We have already begun work on the system. It will be totally under our control. As part of the project, three satellites would be placed in the geo-synchronous transfer orbit, while the remaining four would be in geo-stationary orbit," Mr Nair said.
At present, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is controlled by the US defence department. Russia is also in the process of restoring its own navigation system of 24 satellites, Glonass, by 2009. Besides, Europe is building a satellite navigation system, Galileo, consisting of 30 satellites, which would be ready in 2012-13.
For next year’s Chandrayaan 1 mission, Isro may co-operate with Japanese Aerospace Exploratory Agency (Jaxa). “Jaxa’s lunar mission will take off soon and we are looking at using their data for our lunar mission. In return, we have offered them the tracking facility,” Mr Nair said.
Courtesy:Economics Times
Complete artical HERE
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