Quote (iMMze @ 22 Sep 2014 18:38)
Tracking topic, thanks
while both missions are interesting (as all space missions are) these two are more or less routine missions so i will not post much more about them after mon achieves orbit
(except perhaps when comet siding spring passes by mars)
the one noteworthy thing about mon (which is a 'lightweight' mission) is that if it achieves orbit india can claim to have joined the big boys club of russia, usa, esa, china and japan
if you want to know more about those two missions, the home pages for them are:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/09/maven-arrives-mars-atmospheric-study-mission/http://www.isro.org/pslv-c25/mission.aspxbut one update on mom ->
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/science/mars-orbiter-mission-isro-on-verge-of-creating-space-history/articleshow/43184383.cmsMonday, as ISRO woke up its liquid engine from slumber and slowed down the spacecraft marginally.
...
Monday's firing, although only for 3.98 seconds, made sure the spacecraft approached the planet at the right altitude for maximum efficiency in operation.
It will approach Mars on Tuesday at a velocity of just over 5 km per second, which will be slowed down to about 4.3 km per second after the LAM fires for 24 minutes starting 7.17 am. The news of each event — there is a series of them starting at 6.56 am — will reach the earth 12.5 minutes later.it's only a few hours till we know more