Friday, September 10, 2010

Lord Ganesh

      Today is Ganesh Chaturthi and let me start by saying from Pokhran-2 to Chandrayaan 1. These were the two spectacular scientific events which undoubtedly catuplted India into the league of big nations. Infact, I think more than Pokhran-2, it was Chandrayaan-1 which made the world sit up and finally take notice of India, atleast scientifically.

      One may rightly wonder why I have chosen this topic on Ganesh Chaturthi day. After the successful nuclear weapons tests on May 11 and 13 1998 at Pokhran, there was a mood of excitement throughout the country and triggering fierce sense of patriotism. It was reflected in a number of ways--cassettes, t-shirts and so on. Infact I recall seeing a guy wearing a Pokhran t-shirt at a bus stop at VT and I approached him and inquired where he had obtained the t-shirt. He said he was a physics prof at Sophia College and it was made by a group of his friends at Navi Mumbai who had supported the n-test. Seeing my interest in the test, he said he could give me one. I was so excited that the first thing I did the next day was to go to the college--a bit nervously of course since it is a girl's college (!) which is just a stone's throw distance from my house--and got the Pokhran t-shirt. I still wear it occasionally.  

       A few months passed and that year during the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations I went around a number of pandals in different parts of Mumbai and found that a few of them were dedicated to the Pokhran n-tests. The organisers said that they were proud that India had displayed its muscle power and strength through the tests. To express their appreciation, they said, they had made the pandals which had been dedicated to the nuclear explosions. At Parel there was even a pandal dedicated to Abdul Kalam. Damn good I said to myself.

       Exactly 10 years later on October 22, 2008, which incidentally happens to be my birthday, India launched a mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1. This set off more excitement than the Pokhran tests since according to many, the moon mission had greater scientific value and more academic interest which inspired youngsters to study science and maths. Pokhran was after all an one time affair, but Chandrayaan is on going.
Perhaps, after the second flight to the moon in 2013, there could be more missions as a recent book about Chandrayaan called ``Chandrayaan and Beyond'' has hinted.

       But something surprised me. During the last Ganapathy festival in 2009 --the first one after the successful Indian moonshot--- believe it or not there was not a single Ganesh mandal dedicated to the Chandrayaan mission. Why, I wonder. With the help of a Toi colleague, I inquired with the organisers, and they had no answer.

       Who can forget that the Chandrayaan-1 launch was preceded by prayers at the Lord Venkateshwara temple at Tirupathi.? Special prayers at the famous Kailasanathar temple at Thinugalur in Tamilnadu were also offered for the success of the lunar mission.

        So keeping this in view maybe in 2011 some Ganesh mandals in Mumbai--a city which played a part in the lunar flight--could be dedicated to the Chandrayaan mission. Think about it.

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        Again on Chandrayaan-1 Thanks to my good friend Pradeep Mohandas, secy of the India chapter of the Moon Society, I came to know today that data from Nasa's Moon Minerology Mapper (M3) one of the 11 payloads on board Chandrayaan-1, had been put on Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Planetary Data System file.

        Among other things it contains a number of images taken by the M3. Some of the images include water being detected at high altitudes (incidentally who discovered it first India MIP or Nasa's M3!!), near side of the moon, craters, building the M3, water around a fresh crater and M3 looking towards the earth. One can also find the optical layout of the M3 imaging spectrometer.

         The first part was released on September 9,2010, the second one will be on January 15,2011 and final instalment is scheduled for release on July 15,2011.

          The software which has been used is essentially for those who wish to understand the format and content of the M3 archive. Typically, these are individuals who would be software engineers, data analysts and planetary scientists.

   ends

         
         

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Mission Mars

     It was a week of Martian discoveries by Nasa and Esa (European Space Agency).

     Nasa's Phoenix which touched down on the North Pole region of Mars on May 25,2008, has done it again----and also within a week.

     Last week an analysis of the data from this mission, had raised questions about the scientific findings of the Viking lander,which had landed on Mars, indicating that there was no life on the Red Planet. When scientists discovered that this mission--Viking--had failed to establish any biological activity, they were disappointed because one of the main goals of the flight was to detect life. But, a recent study of Phoenix data has suggested that the Viking findings may after all not have been absolutely correct.

     After this comes another discovery by Phoenix which has suggested that liquid water has interacted with the Martian surface throughout the planet's history and into the modern times. The research, according to Nasa, also provides new evidence that volcanic activity has persisted on Mars into geologically recent times, several million years ago.

     According to Nasa, although the lander is no longer operating, scientists continue to analyse data gathered from that mission. These recent findings are based upon the planet's carbon diaxide which makes about 95 per cent of the Martian atmosphere.

     Measurements were performed by an instrument on Phoenix called Evolved Gas Analyser. Nasa says that the instrument was capable of doing more accurate analysis of carbon diaxide than similar instruments on Nasa's Viking lander missions in the 1970s.

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     From Phoenix to Mars Express.  The European Space Agency's Mars Express recently found an elongated crater near Mars'equator in the eastern hemisphere. It extends approximately 380 kms by 140 kms in the north-north-east and south-south-west direction. The crater has a rim that rises upto 1800 metres above the surrounding plains while the floor of the depression lies 400-600 metres below the surroundings.

    Speculation about its origin ranges from a possible volcanic activity to impact by meteorites. Esa scientists say that the theory that it could have been formed because of an impact is gaining ground---a small body may have struck the surface at a very shallow angle.

     The crater is called ``Orcus Patera.'' Though Patera relates to deep, complex or irregularly-shaped volcanic crater, its real origin remains a matter of speculation.

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    And finally.  A  Russian mission to Mars next year is of significance to India's lunar mission.

    Moon Daily reports that Russian scientists will be carrying out tests of an unmanned lander which will fly in an umanned mission to Phobos, one of the moons of Mars.

    Why is it of importance to India? A similar lander will fly in India's second mission to the Moon, ``Chandrayaan-2,'' slated for lift off in 2013 and land on the lunar surface, possihly in the south pole region.

    The Phobos-Grunt spacecraft will land on Phobos and will return to earth with soil samples for analysis. But, the lander which will fly on Chandrayaan-2 will not be coming back to earth.

      The Phobos-Grunt mission was conceived in 1999 and was envisioned as a multi-purpose programme to Mars.

      ends

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

GSLV Mark 3

      On Wednesday afternoon, the atmosphere in Isro's Liquid Propulsion System Centre at Mahendragiri, Tamilnadu,was tense. The mood among the scientists and engineers was one of nervous apprehension. In the control room, the Isro team sat in front of their computers observing data, and the countdown clock was ticking away.

     3.25 p.m.. 3.26 p.m. 3,27 p.m.3.28 p.m., 3.29 p.m. And at sharp  3.30 p.m---the much awaited moment arrived --the engine started, operated for 200 seconds and at the end the scientists heaved a tremendous sigh of relief.  The test was a super success. What was its significance? It was the second static test of one of the heaviest rocket engines in India--the liquid core stage designated as L110 of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark 3. A similar test conducted on March 6, 2010 had failed because of a leak forcing the scientists to terminate the running of the engine when it hit the 150-second mark.

    According to Isro, the L110 is one the heaviest earth storable liquid stages ever developed by Isro. It has two high pressure Vikas engines in what is known as a cluster configuration. Nearly 500 health parameters were monitored during the test and the initial data indicated normal performance.

    The 42.4 metre tall GSLV Mark 3, now under advanced stage of development, will have the capability to place in the geostationary orbit communication satellites weighing between 4500 and 5000 kgs. Tentatively it is slated to make its first flight sometime next year. The current version of GSLVs can launch communication satellites weighing upto two tonnes.

     Space experts explain that the development of such a powerful rocket by India would go a long way in enhancing the capability of the country to be competitive player in the multi-million dollar commercial launch market. By and large it would eliminate the need for Isro to launch its heavier Insat-class communication satellites from foreign launchers like for example Ariane 5.

    Once the GSLV Mark 3 becomes operational, India can launch communication satellites of foreign countries too. The highly proven four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is carrying remote sensing satellites of foreign countries, and right now there is a queue of foreign space agencies waiting to place their satellites on the PSLV. The same perhaps could happen with the GSLV Mark 3.

     The GSLV is a three-stage rocket. The first stage consists of two identical S200 large solid rocket boosters with 200 tonnes of propellant which are strapped on to the second stage. This was successfully tested sometime back. The second stage consists of the L110 restartable liquid stage. Each Vikas engine will produce 75 tonnes of thrust. The third stage consists of the cryogenic stage. It will contain 25 tonnes of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. It will produce 20 tonnes of thrust. The rocket resembles Arianespace's Ariane 5 launcher..

     The GSLV Mark 3 programme has been running behind schedule. But in space technology such delays are inevitable. Ultimately, it is the success of the mission which matters. 

      Good luck GSLV Mark 3 and God Speed.

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      Another good news on the space front which will benefit the common man. In the not-too-distant future bus travellers in India can feel safe. The reason?  

      A new agreement signed between Glonass, the Russian navigation information system and a Hyderabad-based firm, allow the former to manufacture and market its products with the Hyderabad organisation which draw upon the Russian satellite navigation satellite system.

     The project envisages, the installation of telematics Glonass equipment on Indian buses, according to Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency. It will essentially produce automation for staff control of vehicles in normal and emergency situations, provide personnel with data on vehicle location for decision-making and display graphical data about the vehicle's position.

ends
 

     

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Pentagon

     On Tuesday night I was surfing some of the space channels. While I was looking at the website of the Ahmedabad-based Space Application Centre what did I see? 

     Any guess?  A powerful image neither of any Indian city nor a monument nor a river, but of what perhaps is the most heavily guarded military headquarters in the world--the Pentagon--located in Washington. This  super shot of the American military establishment was taken not by any of the American satellites, but by India's own Cartosat-2B satellite which was launched by the four-stage highly-proven Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on July 12,2010.

     Ninety six hours later on July 16,2010, when the US was observing the 41st anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the first manned landing on the moon, Cartosat-2B zoomed over Pentagon, at an altitude of 637 kms in the polar sun synchronous orbit and clicked a beautiful image of the five-sided hexagonal shaped building. The features are so sharp that one can notice various aspects of the top secret set up. The image is sharp and clear because the satellite has a resolution which is better than one metre.

     Cartosat-2B had a lift off mass of 694 kgs and has a five year life span.

     Are there any security issues involved in clicking an image of a sensitive establishment and also placing it in public domain? ``Absolutely not,'' says an Isro official requesting anonymity, while adding that if a country had a remote sensing capability ``you can take any pictures.''. His view was reiterated by director of sac, R.R.Navalgund, who said that `` there were no security issues involved in taking the picture of Pentagon. Outside India there are no security involved,'' he said.

     Incidentally post 9/11 whose ninth anniversary falls on Thursday, the security of Pentagon was stepped up heavily since it was one of the establishments which was targetted by the terrorists. Indian space officials said that the US cannot take any objections to Indian satellites taking pictures of sensitive American establishments because US spy satellites are known to have clicked images of sensitive Indian units Let them know for a change that ``India too is watching,'' an official said in a light hearted manner.

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     Another interesting development. According to the just-released International Year of Astronomy 2009 report the highest participation figures came from India where over 700 million people were reported as being reached by IYA 2009 events. ``This was mainly due to Indian astronomers showcasing their work at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi,'' it said. So, it is the R-day parade after all it which has triggered an interest in astronomy among the Indian youth! Strange logic!

     The report says that with 30,000 people watching in person the parade, and an estimated 700 million watching television, ``this was by far the biggest single event in the IYA 2009 programme,'' it said. One wonders what would have happened to the IYA astronomy events in India, if there had been no R-day parade at all!

      North Korea was one the most active countries in IYA 2009 with more than 500 activities reaching some 11 million people. In the UK, the organisers used a budget of more than one million euros to reach over one million people: 300,000 at local star parties, 300,000 at the IYA 2009 planetarium show and the 400,000 people who attended the global exhibition project--``From Earth To The Universe.''

      Reports from the IYA 2009 network show that atleast 815 million people worldwide were reached by IYA 2009 activities. It says: ``We have to go back more than 40 years to the Apollo moon programme, to find another science event that has engaged the public as much as the International Year of Astronomy 2009. At the peak in 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped on the moon, it reached an audience of more than a billion. Forty years later, IYA 2009, has brought space back to a mass audience once again,'' the report adds.

Monday, September 6, 2010

satellites

   Once again Japan is set to create world space history which could benefit India. On Saturday, Japan will launch the quasi-zenith satellite system stated to be the first of its kind. If successful, rest assured that it will revolutionise the global communication system using satellites, and could benefit the people of India too, according to the Japanese space agency, Jaxa..

   Called Michibiki it will be launched using the H-11 rocket. It is basically is a positioning system using multiple satellites with the same orbital period as geo stationary satellites. According Jaxa the chief advantage of this system is that it will place satellites in multiple orbital planes so that one satellite will always appear close to the zenith above Japan.

    The satellite will separate from the second stage of the H-11 rocket 28.26 minutes after launch at an altitude of 275 kms while the rocket is zooming at a velocity of 10.2 kms per second.

    With a satellite that can always receive global positioning system signals, which are neither blocked by mountains nor high rise buildings, the system can deliver high accuracy satellite positioning system covering close to cent per cent of Japan. Space officials explain that such a new satellite system will have day to day applications because it will contribute towards improving work efficiency in important areas like agriculture, fishery and construction. It can also help in curbing crime and reducing traffic accidents.

    They say that the biggest advantage of a quazi-zenith satellite is that users can receive signals from a satellite that flying just above them. Around the time of Michibiki launch, various new satellite positioning systems are scheduled to begin operations. Michibiki will transmit signals continuosly which can be received not only in Japan, but in other parts of Asia as well which include countries like India, Thailand and Hawaii, says Jaxa.

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      Talking about satellites, a recent report prepared by an European marketing firm, Euroconsult, has estimated that during the next decade about 1220 satellites from different countries will be launched which works out to an average of 122 satellites annually as against 77 earlie.

      The report called ``Satellites to be Built and Launched by 2019: World Market Survey'' has projected that the revenues from manufacturing and launch of these 1220 satellites will touch dollars 194 billion annually.

       The report says that governments around the world will continue to dominate the space sector, accounting for two-thirds of the total number of spacecraft launched.

Chandrayaan goes public

        September 6 2010

        What is the success rate of India's maiden mission to the moon, ``Chandrayaan-1?  While former Isro chief G.Madhavan Nair, who headed the space agency during the launch of ``Chandrayaan-1'' on October 22,2008, has repeatedly stated that 95 per cent of its scientific objectives were accomplished, according to another ex-Isro head U.R.Rao it ranged between 50 and 70 per cent. He even added that some of the payloads on board Chandrayaan-1 did not function properly. Which is correct? Is it by chance a clash of  egoes of two top space scientists? Even if it was 70 per cent, it is still good considering that it was after all the country's first flight to the moon. It was a challenge for our space scientists and engineers because they were flying into the unknown as far as India was considered. Let us not forget that it was the first time that an Indian spacecraft had flown into the deep space region. The maximum an Indian spacecraft has flown so far is 36,000 kms. In space exploration, set backs in the first or even second attempts are inevitable and not viewed as failures, but only as a learning experience. How many Nasa and Russian missions have flopped?

      Ninety or 70 per cent,--whatever it may be---details about the functioning of the Chandrayaan payloads would be known when a huge amount of scientific data including rare images of the moon will be made public by the end of the year. This has stated by a top scientist of Isro's Ahmedabad-based Space Application Centre B.Gopala Krishna. He said ``people will have free access to the huge data obtained from our first moon mission on a web portal that will be launched by this year end.''

      He said: ``The data has been split into two seasons, with the first dealing from November 2008 to February 2009 and the second from March to August 2009. The first season data will be archived by year-end and the second by mid-2011,'' he said. A total of 26 gigabytes of data and images will be uploaded after archiving the first season.

      The archives will include chemical and mineral mapping, high resolution three-dimensional mapping and topographical features. One definately eagerly looks forward to seeing the quality of the three-dimesional maps because according to U.R.Rao the terrain mapping camera on board Chandrayaan-1 mapped only 45 per cent of the lunar surface because of power problems.

     Krishna said that though a dedicated portal will have a catalogue of the data, specific information will be made available for those pursuing research in space exploration. About 70,000 images are being studied which were relayed to the deep space network at Byalalu near Bangalore by 10 scientific instruments on board Chandrayaan-1--the 11th payloads-the indigenous Moon Impact Probe crash landed in the south pole region of the moon on November 14,2008. Access to the data is being made public when what is known as the lock-in period for the principal investigators to analyse will end by December.

      Isro scientists have used the planetary data system developed by Nasa for the preservation and utilisation of the archived information. Krishna said that Isro was also in the process of generating a topographical and a minerological atlas of the moon from the data. According to him a detailed mapping of the moon's minerology and topography will pave the way for further research possibilities.

      Added Krishna: ``We will prepare an atlas of the moon with latitude, longitude, colours of areas, ice water, minerals and terrain from the sheets of topography in the data.''

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      From the moon to the sun. Nasa has begun the development of a mission to visit and study the sun closer than even before. The mission is called ``Solar Probe Plus,'' and is slated for launch before 2018.

      According to Nasa, the small car-sized spacecraft will plunge directly into the sun's atmosphere approximately four million miles from the surface and explore a region no other spacecraft has visited. There are five science experiments on board.

      The experiments are specifically designed to solve two key questions of solar physics---why is the sun's atmosphere so much hotter than the sun's visible surface and what propels the solar wind that affects earth and our solar system.

      As the spacecraft approaches the sun, its revolutionary carbon-composite heat shield must withstand temperatures exceeding 2550 degrees Faherenheit and blasts of intense radiation.



      

     
   

  

Sunday, September 5, 2010

  September 5 2010 

  Mark-0 and we have lift off.

  This is by way of an introduction.

  People generally say that one is born with a silver spoon in the mouth. But, I was different because I think was started enjoying rocket fuel from the moment I arrived on October 22,1949!  Months after I touched down the sky began to fascinate me. In my home in Mumbai I used to spend my time staring at the stars, planets and the moon and of course getting excited at the sight of an aircraft. My mom presented me with a lot of books about planes and the very first one which she gave me is still in my possession. On Saturday evenings I recall going out with my grandfather to Colaba and often he used to buy me books about space flight.

  Every year for my birthday my dad used to give me a card which he sketched for me. It generally indicated my interest. As my birthday neared, he used to scratch his head wondering what he should do for me that particular year.And I think he should be eternally grateful to the Apollo 11 mission because it gave him an idea without any difficulty---that year he gave me a wonderful card showing me cycling on the moon. The card is displayed in our room and has been reproduced in my book ``Moonshot India.'' Infact project director of Chandrayaan-1 Dr Mylswamy Annadurai, humourously remarked at the launch of  ``Moonshot India,'' in Bangalore on October 22,2009, -- the first anniversary of the launch of Chandrayaan-1 which coincides with my birthday on October 22,-- that the first man who landed on the moon was me!!!!!! The original card has been carefully preserved by my wife,Usha.

    Incidentally when my daughter, Rimanika, was brought home in Pune after she was born I telephoned my colleagues at The Times of India in Mumbai and announced over the telephone ``The Eagle Has Landed.''!  

     That is not all. Aware that I am a space kid, during the Viking landing on Mars in 1976 my folks gave me a press kit which was sent to them by what was then the United States Information Service (USIS). I had preserved it carerfully and today--September 5, 2010-- it came in handy when I had to do a story for the Moon Miners' Manifesto India,  about the latest discovery of Nasa's Phoenix mission which challenges the 34-year-old data from the Viking mission that there was no life on Mars.

     I have downloaded several videos about the Chandryaan-1 mission and our room is like a mini space exhibition--rocket models and posters the latter mainly about Chandrayaan. Recently when I visited the Indo-Pak border at Wagah with my family to witness the Beating The Retreat ceremony, kids who were selling souvenirs close to the frontier asked me my name. I replied: ``Chandrayaan!'' After the function when we were getting into the vehicle they rushed to me and said: ``Mr Chandrayaan will u please buy this dvd!!''
Yes, like it or not I am a spacestruck guy. And I wish I had worked at a rocket launch pad or a mission control centre.

     My role models are Wernher Von Braun, Sergei Korolev and Mylswamy Annadurai, the man behind the success of the Chandrayaan-1 mission.

     So folks this blog is mainly dedicated to space exploration. It will carry news and analysis about space events not only in India, but globally too.

      So on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi we are a go for launch.