Europe's next ride to the Moon: Chandrayaan-1 (Forwarded)

ESA News
http://www.esa.int

11 January 2008

Europe's next ride to the Moon: Chandrayaan-1

Excitement is rising as ESA is in the final stages of preparation for the
first collaborative space mission with the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO). Chandrayaan-1 will study the Moon in great detail and
be the first Indian scientific mission leaving the Earth's vicinity.

Europe is supplying three instruments for the mission.

The Moon retains its fascination for planetary scientists and presents many
mysteries still ripe for investigation. Chandrayaan, which means 'journey to
the Moon' in Hindi, will study the Moon at many wavelengths from X-rays,
visible, and near infrared to microwaves during its mission. It will orbit
the moon in a circular path, just 100 km above the lunar surface.

"The low orbit will give us really high resolution data," says Detlef
Koschny, ESA Chandrayaan Project Scientist. The principal mission objective
is to map the surface of the Moon in unprecedented detail. At present the
maps planetary scientists have show details of some 30-100 m across.
Chandrayaan will produce maps with a resolution of between 5 and 10 m across
the whole surface of the Moon. "We aim to have this in two years," says
Koschny.

Building on the experience gained with SMART-1, Europe's first mission to
the Moon, which was launched in September 2003 and concluded its work three
years later, ESA is assisting ISRO with operations, data handling and flight
dynamics. ESA is also coordinating the provision of three European
instruments.

The Compact Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS) will carry out high-quality,
low-energy (soft) X-ray spectroscopic mapping of the Moon. The Infrared
Spectrometer, known as SIR-2, will observe the chemical composition of the
Moon's crust and mantle. Both of these instruments were flown on SMART-1 and
have been upgraded and rebuilt for Chandrayaan-1. They will continue the
work on surface composition started by the original instruments.

The third European contribution is the Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer
(SARA). Derived from the ASPERA (energetic neutral atoms analyser)
instruments, flown on Mars Express and Venus Express, it will be the first
lunar experiment dedicated to direct studies of the interaction between
electrically charged particles and the surface of the Moon.

With no atmosphere, the Moon's surface is constantly bombarded by the wind
of particles released by the Sun. SARA will monitor these interactions and
use them to image the Moon's surface composition, study surface magnetic
anomalies and study the gases released from the lunar surface by the
collision of the solar particles.

All European instruments are nearing completion and will be delivered to
ISRO soon.

The low orbit means that these instruments, all of which rely on collecting
the energy or particles emitted by the lunar surface, will work better.
"Being closer to the surface means that the signal received from the surface
will be stronger. This is good for global mapping," says Christian Erd, ESA
Chandrayaan Project Manager.

Apart from these European instruments, Chandrayaan-1 will carry another
eight science instruments. They include a 29-kg landing probe (MIP), which
will be dropped onto the Moon's surface at the beginning of the mission to
conduct investigations.

Chandrayaan-1 is scheduled to launch in April 2008 from Sriharikota, India.
It will be carried into space by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and
placed on a five and a half day cruise to the Moon. It will then take two
weeks of manoeuvres to fit into its operational orbit.

In addition to the great science it will address, Chandrayaan-1 will be a
stepping-stone to future missions to other bodies, as well as to the Moon.
For example, ESA's BepiColombo mission to Mercury will carry a replica of
SARA's sensor subsystem, allowing the results from the two celestial bodies
to be compared directly.

For more information:

Detlef Koschny, ESA Chandrayaan-1 Project Scientist
Email: Detlef.Koschny @ esa.int

Christian Erd, ESA Chandrayaan-1 Project Manager
Email: Christian.Erd @ esa.int

[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
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