History of Indian Space Research
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was the founding father of the Indian space program. After the launch of Sputnik by USSR in 1957, he recognized the potential that satellites provided.
India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw scientific development as an essential part of India’s future established the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) with Dr. Sarabhai as Chairman in 1962.
The prime objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various needs of India.
Previous name of ISRO – INCOSPAR
ISRO Headquarters – Bangalore
Current ISRO Chief – Dr S. Somnath
The Aryabhata satellite, launched in 1975 from Kapustin Yar using a Soviet Cosmos-3M launch vehicle, was India’s first satellite.
SLV – India’s First Satellite Launch Vehicle
The first indigenous satellite launched by India from our own launch vehicle was called Rohini-1. It was launched on 18th July 1980, on an SLV-3 rocket developed in India, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre(SDSC) Sriharikota.
First India To Space
A joint India-Soviet Union manned mission is launched in 1984, putting the first Indian national in space. Rakesh Sharma, a former Indian air force pilot, flies on the Soyuz T-11 spacecraft to the Salyut 7 Orbital Station.
GSLV & its evolution
Chandrayaan
India’s first lunar mission, Chandrayaan, or moon craft in Sanskrit, is launched in 2008. Its major goal was to collect data about the moon’s geology, mineralogy and topography.
Mars Orbiter Mission 2014
Mangalyaan, India’s first interplanetary mission was launched, making ISRO the fourth space agency to reach Mars. It is India’s first interplanetary venture and is studying Mars’ surface features, mineralogy and atmosphere. Mangalyaan gained worldwide repute as being the least expensive Mars mission till date.
Future Space Plans
India is aiming to become one of the few nations to send humans into space using their own rockets. In 2018, prime minister Narendra Modi said that India will send astronauts into space by 2022. Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III is intended as a launch vehicle for crewed missions under the Indian Human Spaceflight Program, Gaganyaan
International Space Station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station is an artificial satellite (i.e. a type of orbital spaceflight). Stations must have docking ports to allow other spacecraft to dock to transfer crew and supplies. The purpose of maintaining an orbital outpost varies depending on the program. Space stations have most often been launched for scientific purposes, but military launches have also occurred.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency was to have a distinctly civilian orientation, encouraging peaceful applications in space science. Since its establishment, most US space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion spacecraft, the Space Launch System, Commercial Crew vehicles, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program, which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for uncrewed NASA launches.
NASA’s science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System; advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate’s Heliophysics Research Program; exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic spacecraft such as New Horizons; and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs.
So said cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, (pictured left) who made history as the first woman in space aboard the then-Soviet Union’s Vostok 6 spacecraft in 1963.
In the nearly six decades since Tereshkova first ventured into space, 64 more women have followed suit, albeit in fits and starts. It took another 20 years after Tereshkova’s flight before the former Soviet Union’s Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman in space in 1982. Two years later, she earned the spot of being the first woman to walk in space.
Mars Rover Missions
The Purpose Of The Mars Rover Missions Are To Study If Life Or Water Was Present On Mars. Through The Years NASA Has Sent 5 Rovers To Mars, Currently There Are 2 Rovers Still Active On Mars: Curiosity(2012-) And Perseverance (2021-current)
Rover Mission History
IN December 4 1996 The NASA Delta II Was Launched It Arrived On Mars On July 4 1997. The Rochet Landed And Released The Pathfinder Lander And The First Rover On Mars The Sojourner Rover, This Rover Built To Last A Week Lasted 83 Days And Captured 550 Pictures Before It Malfunctioned.
Spirit & Opportunity
In July 8th And 10th 2003 2 Identical Rovers Where Launched Spirit And Opportunity. They Landed On January 3 And January 25 2004, They Both Had The Same Mission To Get Enough Pictures To Find Out If There Is Or Was Water On The Red Planet. Spirit Stopped Communicating On March 22, 2010 Due To A Sand Trap But Opportunity Lasted Till June 12, 2018 Because Of A Sand Storm Making It The The Longest-running Rover On Mars.
Curiosity
The Rover Has 17 Different Cameras And Different Lab Like Equipment, Its Mission Is To Find out If There Was Microbial Life. Curiosity Is Still Running To This Day
Perseverance And Ingenuity
On February 18 2021 Perseverance And The Helicopter Drone Ingenuity Landed On Mars. The Mission: Collect Rock Samples And Pictures And To Make A Breathable Atmosphere! They Are Currently Still On Mars.
Park Solar Probe
The Parker Solar Probe is the first to “touch” the Sun. It is an ingenious creation of NASA, which can help uncover many secrets and details about the Sun and the Solar System. Well, the probe only touched the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere, not the sun’s surface. But touching the Corona is a bigger deal. The Corona, is 300 times hotter than the Photosphere, the visible surface of the Sun !
Read following article very informative
Reference : https://earthsky.org/sun/why-suns-atmosphere-hotter-than-its-surface/
Alfvén waves are oscillations of ions and the magnetic field in a plasma. These oscillations can cause the Sun’s plasma to rise up to the corona and crash, depositing its energy there, like a heat bomb. An Alfvén wave in a plasma is a low-frequency (compared to the ion cyclotron frequency) travelling oscillation of the ions and the magnetic field. The ion mass density provides the inertia and the magnetic field line tension provides the restoring force.
The first ideas for a mission to uncover the mysteries of the sun date back to the 1950s. But the harsh environment near the sun turned out to be too challenging for spacecraft technologies back then.
In 2018, NASA finally launched the Parker Solar Probe to pursue this early dream. Its orbit will bring the spacecraft closer and closer to the sun over the coming years. At its closest encounter in 2024, it will be just over six million kilometres away from the sun. Although this number still sounds quite large, it is much closer to the sun than any spacecraft has ever been before. For comparison, the Earth orbits the sun at a distance of 150 million kilometres.
The instruments on the spacecraft directly measure the solar-wind plasma and the electromagnetic fields around the spacecraft. The spacecraft also measures energetic particles, which are ions (atoms that have lost electrons) or electrons that travel much faster than the solar wind. The probe even has an imaging instrument onboard that takes photographs of the corona.
Also the beautiful Auroras are formed due to large amounts solar winds, called “Coronal
Mass Ejections”.
The Hubble Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is an observatory that orbits around Earth. It allows astronomers to get a better view of objects in outer space than they can get from Earth. The telescope was named for Edwin Hubble, a famous U.S. astronomer.
The atmosphere that surrounds Earth is made up of gases that make it hard for scientists on Earth to get a clear view of objects in space, even with powerful telescopes. The Hubble, however, is about 370 miles (600 kilometers) above Earth. This is beyond the atmosphere.
History
For many years scientists wanted to build a telescope that could be used in orbit. In the 1970s the European Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States began working on plans to design such a telescope. Several different NASA centers and individual companies then worked together to build the Hubble. Finally, the spaceshuttle Discovery carried it into orbit in 1990. The crew of Discovery set it up. Astronauts on several later space shuttle missions made repairs to keep the telescope working.
How it works
The Hubble is a large reflecting telescope. It gathers visible light and other forms of radiation from stars and other objects and directs it into several instruments. One of the instruments is a camera that can take images that are 10 times clearer than that of even the largest Earth-based telescope. Another camera can detect an object 50 times fainter than anything observable by any ground-based telescope.
Discoveries
- Scientists using the Hubble have made many important discoveries.
- They learned that the universe is about 13 to 14 billion years old.
- The telescope photographed young stars with disks that will eventually become planetary systems.
- It also captured images of galaxies at different stages of growth.
- This allowed scientists to learn more about how galaxies are formed.
Samudrayaan
From deep space to deep sea
What is Samudrayaan ?
Samudrayaan is a Ocean exploration mission. The NIOT and MoES have constructed a manned submersible Matsya 6000 to take three people down to a depth of 6000m (6 km). The estimated cost of the mission is 8000 Cr for a period of 5 years to be implemented phase wise. The phase I of the project is supposed to be executed in 2021-22
Matsya 6000
Matsya 6000 is manned submersible constructed to take three people down to the depth of 6000m. Most submarines have a maximum depth of roughly 200m. This submersible can crawl on the seabed 6km deep for up to 72 hours. It was designed with a 12 hour operational endurance and 96 hour emergency endurance.
What is the goal of this mission ?
India has been allocated an area of 75,000 sq. km by the International Seabed Authority for exploration of Polymetallic nodules. The estimated amount of Polymetallic nodules 380 million tonnes, containing 4.7 million tonnes of nickel, 4.29 million tonnes of copper and 0.55 million tonnes of cobalt and 92.59 million tonnes of manganese. It is estimated that recovery of even 10 % of that can meet India’s Energy requirement for the next 100 years.
Reusable Space X Rocket(Falcon 9)
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable two-stage-to-orbit medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX in the United States. The latest version of the first stage can return to Earth and be flown again multiple times.
How does the rocket work ?
After the rocket goes through staging, the first stage begins its fall through the atmosphere. Cold gas thrusters near the top flip the rocket around so it’s upright. Then the stage engine fires briefly, just enough to slow its fall. As the stage approached its target, the legs deploy.
Who made these rockets ?
Perhaps the first reusable launch vehicles were the ones conceptualized and studied by Wernher von Braun from 1948 until 1956. But Elon Musk made the first reusable rocket with the help of his own company SpaceX.
Facts About the Rocket
According to Elon Musk, almost every piece of the Falcon should be reused over 100 times. Heat shields and a few other items should be reused over 10 times before replacement. Reusable parts drastically lower the costs of launch, in turn lowering the barrier of access to space.
More Funs
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Everyday Reflections 