Mangalyaan - Overview and Technical Architecture of India's First Interplanetary Mission to Mars

On August 15, 2012, the 66 Independence Day of India, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh formally announced Mangalyaan, the nation’s first interplanetary mission to Mars. The Mars Orbiter mission was initiated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to study the upper atmosphere of the most Earth like planet in the Solar System. Mangalyaan orbiter is planned to be launched to an initial Earth orbit in October 2013 by a PSLV-XL rocket. The spacecraft will begin the Mars Transfer Trajectory (MTT) on November 26, 2013. By September 22, 2014, the spacecraft will be placed in a highly elliptical orbit after the crucial Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) maneuver by firing the 440 N Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM). The Indian Mars Orbiter mission is being developed as a technology demonstration mission with five experimental science payloads. One of the main objectives of the first Indian mission to Mars is to develop the technologies required for the design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission. This paper presents an overview of the technology and science objectives of India’s first interplanetary mission to Mars, launch vehicle, spacecraft architecture, science instruments, mission design and program management.