The countdown has begun, as Mangalyaan, India’s Mars craft is scheduled to lift off at 2:38 pm today, on Tuesday (Mangalvar) from Sriharikota, 80 kilometres from Chennai. India will be the fourth nation or rather even group of countries to reach the Red Planet, after the Soviet Union, United States and Europe. State-run Doordarshan will telecast the launch live from 2pm onwards today.
This Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, with extended rockets, will take an elliptical arc around the Earth. The satellite's thrusters will then begin a series of six small fuel burns, moving it into higher orbit before it slingshots toward the Red Planet.
Mangalyaan will gather data to help determine how Martian weather systems work and what happened to the water that is believed to have once existed on Mars in large quantities. The space craft will also study the atmosphere and search for methane gas, a sign that the planet can support life.
Meanwhile, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said that the launch will not be impacted due to cloudy and rainy weather in Tamil Nadu. “During launch window - partly cloudy weather and no rain is expected. Looks like we are heading towards a bright and sunny day for the launch," said ISRO.
“According to us at Skymet, the weather in Sriharikota, situated in south coastal Andhra Pradesh, is expected to be dry. Skies will be mainly clear, barring few patchy clouds. Therefore we forecast good weather for the launch of Mangalyaan today. Clouding and possibilities of isolated rain in Chennai may also not affect the weather at Sriharikota at all”, confirms a senior meteorologist at Skymetweather.com
On Sunday, at 6.08 am at Sriharikota, the final 56-and-a-half-hour countdown for the launch of India's Rs. 450-crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) started. Mangalyaan is expected to reach the orbit of the red planet on September 24, 2014, after traversing 400 million km. Once launched, the satellite is expected to take more than 40 minutes to get injected into the Earth's orbit. The orbiter will remain in the Earth's orbit till December 1 before it begins its 300-day voyage to Mars.
Fourteen days after the Indian mission, the US will be launching a similar Mars orbiter called Maven.
Photo by future.wikia
