India is preparing to launch its second mission to Mars, nine years after successfully placing a spacecraft in orbit around the red planet on its first attempt. The Mars Orbiter Mission-2, also known as Mangalyaan-2, will carry four scientific instruments to study various aspects of Mars, including interplanetary dust, the Martian atmosphere, and the environment. The payloads are currently in different stages of development.
In the mission document, it says that the instruments are a Mars Orbit Dust Experiment (MODEX), a Radio Occultation (RO) experiment, an Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS), and a Langmuir Probe and Electric Field Experiment (LPEX). These instruments will help scientists understand the origin, distribution, and behaviour of dust particles on Mars, measure the Martian atmosphere's density profiles, characterise solar energy particles, and study the plasma environment on Mars.
India's first Mars orbiter mission, launched in 2013, was a significant achievement as it made India the fourth country to place a spacecraft in Mars orbit and the first to do so on its first attempt. The mission lasted for seven years before it was retired.
The objectives of the first mission were to showcase the design and launch capabilities of a Mars orbiter spacecraft, successfully insert the craft into Mars orbit, and conduct scientific studies of the planet's surface features, morphology, mineralogy, and atmosphere.
The upcoming Mars Orbiter Mission-2 demonstrates India's continued commitment to space exploration and scientific research. By studying Mars, scientists hope to gain insights into the planet's geological history, potential for life, and the processes that shape planetary bodies.
The data collected by the instruments on Mangalyaan-2 will contribute to our understanding of Mars and its environment, as well as provide valuable information for future missions to the red planet. India's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has established itself as a key player in the global space community and continues to push the boundaries of space exploration.
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