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Space Topics: Chandrayaan-1

Chandrayaan-1 Mission Facts

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The International Lunar Decade

Mission Timeline

Launch date: planned for July 2008
Journey to the Moon: five-and-a-half day geotransfer orbit
Nominal mission: two years

Spacecraft

Cube shape, with a length of 1.5 meters on each side and a total mass of 1,050 kilograms (523 kilograms initial orbit mass and 440 kilograms dry mass). The satellite design is based on ISRO's Kalpansat meteorological satellite that was launched in 2002. Chandrayaan-1 will also carry a 30-kilogram probe that will penetrate the surface of the Moon.

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Chandrayaan-1, Indian Lunar Orbiter

A 750-Watt solar panel together with a Lithium-Ion battery will supply power to the spacecraft. A bipropellant engine will be used to enter orbit and to maintain the spacecraft's orbit at the Moon.

The total mission cost is INR 3.8 billion (US $83 million)

Orbit

Chandrayaan 1 will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, on a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket. After a five-and-a-half-day 240 by 36,000 kilometer geotransfer orbit, it will end up in a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) orbit around the Moon. From there, it will drop to a checkout orbit of only 200 kilometers (120 miles) and then a final orbit 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the surface of the Moon, where it will orbit for about two years.