The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India's national space agency, was a lunar probe that was released by ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 lunar remote sensing orbiter which in turn was launched, on 22 October 2008, aboard a modified version of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It discovered the presence of water on the Moon. [1] [2]
The Moon Impact Probe separated from the Moon-orbiting Chandrayaan-1 on 14 November 2008, 14:36:54 UTC and after nearly 25 minutes hard landed as planned, near the rim of Shackleton Crater. [3] [4] [5] With this mission, ISRO became the fifth national space agency to land on the lunar surface. Other nations whose national space agencies to have done so prior were the former Soviet Union in 1959, [6] the United States in 1962, [7] [8] Japan in 1993, [9] and ESA member states in 2006. [10] [11] [12]
The probe was a product of former President Abdul Kalam's suggestion [13] who felt that since the Chandrayaan orbiter was already going so near to the Moon, the mission would have more scientific relevance if the probe was included. He believed that the Moon could not be left to a few countries and that India should not be left behind [14] The Times of India also reported a political motive by former president Abdul Kalam as "He believed that if this was done, India could always stake a claim to a portion of the Moon." [11] At the same time, The Indian Express reported Kalam as saying "no nation can claim the Moon as its own. The resources of the Moon should be a common property and that is one of the aims of the Moon mission." [15]
The main objectives of the MIP were to demonstrate the technologies for reaching a specified location on the Moon, qualifying technologies required for any future soft landing missions, and scientific exploration of the Moon from close range just prior to the impact. [16] [17] [18]
The MIP carried three instruments: [19]
The probe used aluminium-honeycomb sandwich structure onto which the payloads were mounted. The probe was attached to the orbiter with a ball lock separation system which jettisoned the unit from the Chandrayaan. A solid propellant de-orbit mortar nudged the craft out of lunar orbit, while solid propellant based thrusters were fired to spin-stabilize the orientation enabling the imaging system to capture the descent profile. [20]
The probe's external surface had four oval-shaped anodised aluminium plates measuring 120mm X 180mm [21] on which the image of the Indian flag was depicted, complete with the Emblem of India and the words "Satyameva Jayate". [21] These plates were attached to each one of the four vertical sides of the probe. As per ISRO specifications these plates had to endure a temperature range from −50 degrees celsius and as high as more than 150 degrees celsius. [21]
India launched the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft using a modified version of the PSLV C11 [22] [23] on 22 October 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 06:22 IST (00:52 UTC). [24]
The lunar probe separated from Chandrayaaan-1, in a 102 km circular polar orbit around the Moon, at 20:06 IST on 14 November 2008. [25] After separation, it first fired its spin up rockets and then its retro rocket to de-orbit itself into the lunar surface. [26] While descending, the MIP continuously sent information back to the Chandrayaan-1 orbiter which in turn beamed the information back to Earth. After a 25-minute descent, it struck the Moon at 20:31 IST, 14 November 2008 at a speed of 1.69 kilometers per second (approximately 6100 km/h or 3800 miles per hour). [26] It crashed into Shackleton Crater, at the lunar south pole, near 89°33′S122°56′W / 89.55°S 122.93°W , [27] [28] at 20:31 on 14 November 2008. [25]
On 25 September 2009, ISRO announced that the MIP had discovered water on the Moon during its descent just before impact. [1] This announcement was made after the discovery of water was announced on 24 September 2009 by Science magazine by the NASA payload Moon Mineralogy Mapper carried on board Chandrayaan-1. [29] MIP discovered water on the Moon before NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, the announcement of this discovery was not made until NASA confirmed it. [2] [30]
The approximate impact location of the probe ( 89°46′S39°24′W / 89.76°S 39.40°W ) [31] was named as Jawahar Sthal in India after the first Prime Minister of India, on whose birth anniversary [32] [33] incidentally the event took place. The name was suggested by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam to honor his vision that was crucial to the creation of INCOSPAR and later ISRO. [34] [35]
The initial location was later refined to the Earth-facing slope of the connecting ridge between Shackleton (crater) and De Gerlache (crater) near coordinates ( 89°33′S122°56′W / 89.55°S 122.93°W ) by matching images from MIP camera to LROC NAC image mosaic. [36]
A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards, then comes to rest on the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth. In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional.
Chandrayaan-1 was the first Indian lunar probe under the Chandrayaan programme. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included an orbiter and an impactor. India launched the spacecraft using a PSLV-XL rocket on 22 October 2008 at 00:52 UTC from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The mission was a major boost to India's space program, as India researched and developed indigenous technology to explore the Moon. The vehicle was inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November 2008.
A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2, on 13 September 1959.
Lunar water is water that is present on the Moon. Diffuse water molecules in low concentrations can persist at the Moon's sunlit surface, as discovered by the SOFIA observatory in 2020. Gradually, water vapor is decomposed by sunlight, leaving hydrogen and oxygen lost to outer space. Scientists have found water ice in the cold, permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's poles. Water molecules are also present in the extremely thin lunar atmosphere.
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) is one of two instruments of NASA that was carried by India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, launched October 22, 2008. It is an imaging spectrometer, and the team is led by Principal investigator Carle Pieters of Brown University, and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation from Earth. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the first leap in the quality of lunar observations. Galileo Galilei is generally credited as the first person to use a telescope for astronomical purposes; having made his own telescope in 1609, the mountains and craters on the lunar surface were among his first observations using it.
SELENE-2, or the Selenological and Engineering Explorer 2, is a cancelled Japanese robotic mission to the Moon that would have included an orbiter, a lander and a rover. It was intended as a successor to the 2007 SELENE (Kaguya) lunar orbiter.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon. Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites, locating potential resources on the Moon, characterizing the radiation environment, and demonstrating new technologies.
Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after Chandrayaan-1. It consists of a lunar orbiter, the Vikram lunar lander, and the Pragyan rover, all of which were developed in India. The main scientific objective is to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.
The lunar south pole is the southernmost point on the Moon. It is of interest to scientists because of the occurrence of water ice in permanently shadowed areas around it. The lunar south pole region features craters that are unique in that the near-constant sunlight does not reach their interior. Such craters are cold traps that contain fossil record of hydrogen, water ice, and other volatiles dating from the early Solar System. In contrast, the lunar north pole region exhibits a much lower quantity of similarly sheltered craters.
The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), unofficially known as Mangalyaan, was a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was India's first interplanetary mission and it made ISRO the fourth space agency to achieve Mars orbit, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency. It made India the first Asian nation to reach the Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
The Chandrayaan programme also known as the Indian Lunar Exploration Programme is an ongoing series of outer space missions by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the exploration of the Moon. The program incorporates a lunar orbiter, an impactor, a soft lander and a rover spacecraft.
Jawahar Point or Jawahar Sthal is the site near the Shackleton Crater where the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) of the Chandrayaan-1 hard landed on lunar surface on 14 November 2008. The name was suggested by India's former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam as the MIP touched the Moon on the birth anniversary of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Pragyan is a lunar rover that forms part of Chandrayaan-3, a lunar mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) is a planned joint lunar mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The mission would send an uncrewed lunar lander and rover to explore the south pole region of the Moon no earlier than 2026.It is envisaged to explore the permanently shadowed regions on the Moon. JAXA is likely to provide the H3 launch vehicle and the rover, while ISRO would be providing the lander.
Chandrayaan-3 is the third mission in the Chandrayaan programme, a series of lunar-exploration missions developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission consists of a Vikram lunar lander and a Pragyan lunar rover similar to those launched aboard Chandrayaan-2 in 2019, as well as a propulsion module that carried the spacecraft from Earth orbit to lunar orbit.
You, buddy, you have done it!" Dr Kalam told Nair. To the entire control room, he said: "Today is a historic day as India has accomplished this fantastic mission. I congratulate each and every one of you!"
Before returning to New Delhi, however, he made a notable suggestion – to name the impact site after Pandit Nehru, on whose birthday the landing was made and whose vision was crucial to the creation of Isro. After receiving appropriate permissions from the government, the site was named "Jawahar Sthal