ISRO And ESA Sign Chandrayaan-1 Instrument Agreement

MOON DAILY

Chandrayaan-1 is planned for launch by 2007-08 on board India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The 525 kg satellite will be placed in 100 km polar orbit around the moon and it will have a life time of two years.

Bangalore, India (SPX) Jun 28, 2005
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed an agreement Monday (June 27, 2005) for including European instruments on board India's first scientific mission to moon, Chandrayaan-1.

This agreement, under the umbrella agreement for cooperation already existing between ISRO and ESA, was signed by Mr G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO and Mr Jean Jacques Dordain, Director General, ESA, at Bangalore.

The European contribution will be as follows:

A low energy (0.5-10 keV) X-ray spectrometer called Chandrayaan Imaging X-Ray Spectrometer from Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, to measure elemental abundance distributed over the lunar surface using X-ray fluorescence technique. It will also include X-ray solar monitor to record the incident solar X-ray flux.

Near Infra-Red (IR) Spectrometer from Max Planck Institute of Aeronomie, Germany, to detect and measure lunar mineral abundances.

Sub keV Atom Reflecting Analyser from Swedish Institute of Space Physics, developed in collaboration with India, to measure volatiles generated due to solar wind impacting on lunar surface and determine the surface magnetic field anomalies.

Europe will also contribute to the Indian experiment, namely, High Energy X-ray Spectrometer. The European instruments will complement the following main Indian experiments on Chandrayaan-1:

Terrain Mapping Camera with stereo imaging capability operating in panchromatic band with 5 m spatial resolution and 20 km swath.

A Hyper-Spectral Imager operating in 400-900 nm band with a spectral resolution of 15 nm, a spatial resolution of 80 m and 20 km swath.

A Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument with a vertical resolution of better than 5 m.

A High Energy X-ray (10-250 keV) spectrometer with a footprint of 20 km to detect radio nuclei. In addition, an Impact Probe has been included in the mission for proving technological elements required for future landing missions.

Indian and ESA scientists will share the data from the European instruments as per the agreement signed.

Email This Article

MOON DAILY

Tulips On The Moon

Moffet Field CA (SPX) Jun 28, 2005
Bernard Foing, Chief Scientist at the European Space Agency, is also Project Scientist for SMART-1, a spacecraft now orbiting the Moon. SMART-1 is currently mapping the lunar surface topography and mineralogy, and scientists hope this information will lead to new insights about the Moon's evolution.

SPACE TRAVEL NASA, Xerox To Demonstrate 'Virtual Crew Assistant' Administrator Griffin Testifies On The Future Of NASA "Force Field" Could Keep Lunar Astronauts Safe From Solar Radiation India To Hold Int'l Conference On Planetary Exploration	MARSDAILY Spirit Contemplates Climbing To The Summit Mars Express Radar Ready To Work Does Life Exist On Other Planets? Spirit's Scenic Stop
NUCLEAR SPACE NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program Boeing-Led Team to Study Nuclear-Powered Space Systems	EXO WORLDS Detour: Planetary Construction Zone Ahead Off-Center Optimism for a Planet In Search Of An Elusive Earth Beyond Our Own Clues To Planet Formation Revealed
NANO TECH Nano World: Nanoantennas Superfocus Light Buckyball Aggregates Are Soluble, Antibacterial Scientists Create World's Tiniest Organic Particles Quantum Dot Legal Battle Inevitable	SPACE MEDICINE Genomic Sequences Processed In Minutes, Rather Than Weeks IBM And EPFL Join Forces To Uncover The Secrets Of Cognitive Intelligence New Vaccine-Making Facility Opens Gold Nanoparticles May Simplify Cancer Detection
LAUNCH PAD Putin Attacks US Curbs On Russian Space Exports Russian Telecoms Satellite Launched From Kazakhstan Intelsat Americas IA-8 Launch Successful Russia To Remain On Baikonur Launching Site Until 2050	ROCKET SCIENCE Faster Than a Speeding Bullet: Guinness Recognizes NASA Scramjet LockMart Test Fires Second Falcon Small Launch Vehicle Hybrid Motor Russia And USA Plan Joint Development Of Rocket Engines For Flights To Mars NASA Investigates Revolutionary Space Exploration Concepts

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement