Europe, India prepare for Moon mission
Chandrayaan-1 will study the Moon at many wavelengths from X-rays, visible, and near-infrared to microwaves.
Provided by ESA, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
 The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. ESA [View Larger Image] Europe is participating in a big way in the Indian Space Agency's Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon, by contributing three instruments. All these instruments have now been delivered, tested, and integrated with the spacecraft. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft is now at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) facilities in Bangalore, India. Delivery for each instrument is completed once the hardware physically arrives, has been integrated with the spacecraft, and the software interfaces are checked. SIR-2, a near-infrared spectrometer was delivered in the first week of November last year. Sub-kilo electron volt Atom Reflecting Analyzer (SARA) was delivered on April 8, 2008. Europe's contribution is now complete as the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS), the third instrument, was tested and integrated with the spacecraft on August 22. SIR-2 will survey the Moon's geological composition and the effect of space weathering on its surface. Data from the instrument will be used to study the formation of lunar structures. SIR-2 is led by the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research. This instrument builds upon the infrared spectrometer (SIR), which flew on SMART-1. The combination of the improvements made and the low orbit of Chandrayaan-1 will enable superior scientific measurements. SARA, led by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, developed with hardware contribution from the Space Physics Laboratory at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, India, will measure the resulting atomic emission from interactions of the solar wind with the Moon's surface. "The experience with SARA will prepare us for a similar instrument on BepiColombo,"says Christian Erd, ESA's Chandrayaan-1 project manager. X-ray spectroscopy of the Moon, the objective of C1XS, will yield information on the origin and evolution of our planet's natural satellite. C1XS builds upon the legacy of the D-CIXS instrument that flew onboard SMART-1, and consists of significant upgrades based on the experience gained with ESA's lunar mission. C1XS has been developed in collaboration between Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, United Kingdom, and the ISRO Satellite Center, with support from ESA. Chandrayaan-1's low orbit will bring it very close to the Moon, returning high-quality data. "European scientists will have the fantastic opportunity to continue our work on the Moon," added Detlef Koschny, ESA Chandrayaan-1 project scientist. The integration of all instruments of the Chandrayaan-1 mission is now complete and validation tests to check the functionality of the spacecraft and the suite of instruments are underway. |
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