India's $80M USD moon probe launched it into the lunar race and has been deemed a modest success, reaching orbit correctly. However, since it has had some setbacks, including the latest problem of serious overheating. (Source: Doordarshah National)
India says that its not surprised that its lunar orbiter began to overheat
When India launched its first moon mission with the Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe, which launched October 22, the nation was swept with much excitement. Millions waited in anticipation as the probe's lander detached from the main probe. The lander would hurtle towards the lunar surface carrying proudly the Indian flag and slamming into the lunar surface so hard that all its instruments aboard were pulverized. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) officials insisted that this crash was intentional to collect descent data on what not to do in the future.
Now the ISRO has something else to worry about with their ambitious lunar mission. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft has begun to overheat, with its temperature soaring to 49 degrees C (120 degrees Fahrenheit). Mylswamy Annadurai, the project director for the lunar mission, said that the ISRO has been forced to switch off several instrument systems due to the failure.
The spacecraft began to overheat when it aligned with the sun and received radiative heating. This effect is expected to continue strongly through December due to the moon's orbit. Annadurai says that the ISRO expected this development, but simply did not develop measures to prevent it, other than procedures to shut off systems.
He states, "We have switched off the systems (aboard) that are not needed to be on."
The temperature has since sank to 40 degrees C (104 degrees Fahrenheit), he says. While the orbiter is officially designed to only be stable for temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) or less, Annadurai believes it could survive much hotter temperatures -- 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit).
Chadrayaan is India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft. It takes its name from the Sanskrit word for "moon craft" -- "chandrayaan". The orbiter's mission will last 2 years, during which it will take high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the moon's surface. These images should help to reveal water or ice if it exists, as well as to analyze the composition of lunar rocks.
The orbiter has technology aboard from the United States, the European Union and Bulgaria. The ISRO has said it will graciously share the information it collects with foreign space agencies, such as NASA -- if it can get its overheating issues under control, that is.
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