Mars orbiter may survive for years: Isro chief

Having survived the solar eclipse that recently engulfed Mars, India’s Rs 450-crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft will now live on for years, said Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar.

The next episode of the eclipse will happen only two and a half years later. Already on an extended life – as it was planned to be a six-month project – MOM can now go on for years, he said on the sidelines of the IISc Global Conference on Friday.

When Deccan Herald asked him how this was possible, Kumar said the orbiter had not faced any problem so far and had survived the eclipse. “It has also not come across any hurdles – either on its way or in its orbit. This inclines us to think that it can last a long time. We’ve got 45 kg of fuel which is a lot and we are yet to use any of the redundant systems, which means everything is going well and we see the MOM living on.”

MOM has been on extended life for the last few months and was entirely orbiting in the autonomous mode during the eclipse. There was no communication between the spacecraft and the Isro ground stations for more than two weeks.

Kiran Kumar said: “Now, the signals have resumed and in the next three-four days we will also receive data from there again.” Among the unplanned things MOM can explore because of this extension are the different seasons of Mars and also the various periods. “All payloads, including the methane sensor, are sending information as planned. But,  I cannot comment on any discovery, as things have to be validated,” Kiran said.

Only the colour camera has sent about 400 images till date. On why the meteorological data that is delivered differs from that of private weather monitoring agencies and Isro, Kumar said: “It depends on whether they are short-term or long-term forecasts. It’s a very difficult thing to predict weather in the tropical regions.

SAARC satellite

Commenting on the recent meeting of SAARC countries, Kiran said talks of a SAARC satellite that can help all the cooperating nations took a concrete form.

“We are looking at a December-2016 launch as we need at least 18 months once the clearances come,” he said.He said participation from all countries, especially Pakistan, was great. “We had invited five scientists from each of the seven countries but Pakistan brought nine, which is a reflection of their interest,” he said.

“While this satellite will be launched by India, premature talks of forming a consortium like in Europe was also discussed for the future,” he said.