The Moon Impact Probe on Chandrayaan-1

A unique, stand alone micro satellite called the Moon Impact Probe (MIP), designed to impact at a predecided location near the South Pole of the moon was a part of the Chandrayaan-1 mission. The MIP has two technology and one scientific experiments, viz. a Moon Imaging System (MIS) for surface photography along its path, a Radar Altimeter for terrain topography at close distance (<5 km) and a Mass Spectrometer, CHACE (Chandra's Altitudinal Composition Explorer), for measuring the neutral composition on the sunlit side of the moon. A description of the various sub-systems of the MIP and of the instruments is presented in this article.