We will send a spacecraft to Mars in 2013 - Madhavan Nair
P. Sunderarajan
After the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-I mission to Moon,
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a slew of
missions to conquer new frontiers of space, including landing a rover on
the Moon in 2012, sending a spacecraft to Mars in 2013 and a manned
space mission in 2015.
ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair said on Wednesday that the mission to
Mars, now at a conceptual stage, would be finalised next year. The
current version of the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle would be
used to launch the spacecraft. The mission would be similar to
Chandrayaan-I.
The spacecraft would be first placed in the Earth’s orbit and then
raised to the Martian orbit.’Chandrayaan-II ready’.
Nair was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function
organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to facilitate
the team behind the Chandrayaan-I mission.
He said the design for the sequel, Chandrayaan-II, was ready and the
plan was to launch it by 2012. It would entail the landing of a rover on
the Moon. The rover would be made in collaboration with Russia.
On the manned mission to space, Nair said the plan was to send two
astronauts into space on a seven-day mission on an indigenously
developed rocket in 2015. The government had sanctioned Rs. 95 crore to
study all aspects of the mission.
ISRO, he said, was setting up an astronaut training centre in
Bangalore. A batch of 200 would be initially selected and trained. Of
them, four would be shortlisted. While two will go on the mission, the
other two will remain as backup. The spacecraft would be placed in a low
Earth orbit and splash in the Indian Ocean after completion of the
mission.
Last year, ISRO conducted a Space Recovery Experiment, under which it
sent a capsule into space. The capsule was recovered successfully after
being in orbit for 22 days. Before the maiden indigenous manned mission
to space, ISRO planned to send an Indian astronaut aboard a Russian
spacecraft in 2013.
Courtesy: The Hindu |
