Chandrayaan-I develops malfunction, its life may be reduced

Bangalore, July 17 (PTI) India's maiden moon probe
Chandrayaan-I has developed a malfunction that puts some
experiments in jeopardy and raises questions on completion of
the mission that was intended to last two years.

"Unfortunately, during the last month we have lost a
vital sensor --- the star sensor," Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhavan Nair said.

He said space scientists had tried to work around the
problem and patched two other instruments to help manoeuvre
the spacecraft to the desired locations.

"We are not sure how long we will be able to sustain it.
The life of Chandrayaan-I designed for two years may be
reduced," ISRO spokesman S. Satish said. Chandrayaan was
launched on October 22 last year.

Nair said that in the last eight months of the mission,
"we have collected almost all the data that we wanted" and
that most of its objectives have already been completed.

The problem would mean that some of the 10 experiments
onboard would have to be replanned and at least one involving
the Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) being abandoned.

The LLRI was designed to measure altitude variations
within five-metre accuracy and operate at a 100-km altitude, a
distance at which the spacecraft was to orbit the moon during
its two-year mission period.

ISRO had raised the orbit of Chandrayaan-I to 200 kms on
May 19.

Chandrayaan's launch had put India in the select group of
moon-faring nations.

China had also launched its maiden moon mission in
October 2007 which ended in March with a controlled crash onto
the lunar surface.

The Japanese mission, launched in September 2007, also
crashed onto the Lunar surface last month.

ISRO scientists had planned a similar end to the moon
mission at the end of its two-year orbit period. However, the
end may come earlier as the ISRO chief said that the mission
has almost collected all the data it wanted.

Chandrayaan-I is a unique mission with six experiments
from international partners, including NASA and the European
Space Agency.

A meeting of the international partners is likely to be
held late next month when a decision on the continuance of the
mission is expected.

The craft had developed problems within a month of its
launch when the temperature within it had increased
dramatically beyond acceptable limits.

ISRO scientists had to shut down some experiments to
reduce heat generation in the spacecraft.

Nair said that the craft had faced fairly hostile
environment around the moon especially in terms of thermal
cycling as well as radiation. PTI