What is MOM?
- The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan (“Mars-craft”, from mangala, Mars and yana, craft) is a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014. It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- It is India’s first interplanetary mission[and it made the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after Roscosmos, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
- It made India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt.
- Mars Orbiter Mission was launched with the help of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-25.
Mars Orbiter Mission – Objective of the Mangalyaan Mission
The 4 Primary Objectives of the Mars Orbiter Mission are listed below.
- Study of Martian atmosphere
- Study of Martian Surface Features
- Morphology
- Mineralogy.
Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) / Mangalyaan – Scientific Payloads
The MOM mission is primarily a technological mission to study various aspects of Mars. Hence the Mangalyaan mission carried 5 different scientific payloads which are listed below
- Mars Color Camera (MCC)
- Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM)
- Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP)
- Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS)
- Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA)
