MOM has edge over MAVEN, say Isro scientists

Comparisons between the Indian and American spacecrafts which have embarked on a mission to explore planet Mars is inevitable, and over the next 300 days, there will several of the.

Although Nasa’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) was launched 13 days before Isro’s Mars Orbiter Misison (MOM), it is expected to reach Mars’ orbit on Septmber 21, 2014 three days before the MOM.

Besides, unlike the MOM the US spacecraft will not be made to undergo the trans-mars injection opeartion, which Isro plans to carry out on December 1. This is because Nasa’s powerful launch vehicle has been able to directly put MAVEN on to the Red Planet. However, scientists associated with the MOM are confident that the orbit insertion maneuver process chosen is more reliable, when compared to the procedure followed by Nasa.

“MAVEN upon reaching the designated Mars orbit will have only one chance to enter the the orbit, and if it does not do so, that will be the end. But we have an additional opportunity. In case we reach on September 24, 2014 and we are not able to perform the orbit insertion maneuver, we will have another opportunity after three days of orbiting Mars,” said MoM project director, M Annadurai. 

According to Isro, when a spacecraft reaches the nearest point of Mars (peri-apsis), it is maneuvered into an elliptical orbit around Mars by firing the liquid engine. The spacecraft will then move around Mars in an orbit with a peri-apsis of 366 km and apo-apsis of about 80,000 km.

Annadurai said MAVEN will not have this opportunity, and is a huge advantage that MOM does, considering that a majority of earlier launched Mars missions failed during this stage. Russia, for instance, failed on its first 10 attempts, USA six times, while China is yet to enjoy success.