India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) heading towards reality

India’s plan for the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) seen heading towards reality as the India Space Research Organization (ISRO) has started integrating the payload for the same. The spacecraft is scheduled to take off in November this year.

The preliminary design reviews of the plan are complete as of now and the integration process has started. It has been learnt that it will take the spacecraft about 10 months to reach its destination and is expected to reach the same by September 2014.

Propulsion system for the structure is almost in its final stages while it has been shifted to the clean room, confirmed sources inside ISRO. It will be launched via PSLV-C25. The mission will be ISRO’s first interplanetary mission.

The spacecraft will be orbiting the red planet. It weighs 1,350-kg and will carry with it five another instruments weighing a total of 15 kg. These instruments and payload have been selected by the Advisory Committee for Space Sciences (ADCOS) and shall be working to scrutinize into the Martian surface, atmosphere and mineralogy.

“The primary driving technological objective of mission is to design and realize a spacecraft with capability to reach Mars, then to orbit around Mars which will take about nine months”, affirmed the agency in a statement.