Mission Red Planet

In a small village in Tamil Nadu, a little girl with bright eyes studying in 5th std. was watching the sky at night. Her father saw his daughter seated outside their house and watching the stars.

“Why you always watch the stars at night, dear one?” the father asked his little daughter.

“Because I like to look at the dark space, what lies beyond it. I like to see how the moon changes its shape, how the stars twinkle so brightly at night…” the girl said, without taking her gaze of the sky.

The next day, this little girl easily solved a 10th standard mathematics problem in front of all the senior students who found it quite tough. Seeing this, the headmaster was quite impressed.

“What’s your name, little one? What would you like to become when you grow up?” the headmaster asked.

“My name is Ritika Krishnamurthy, sir. I would like to become a scientist when I grow up..!” the little girl answered proudly.

5th June, 2012

Today, Ritika Krishnamurthy, who was working in ISRO since 1997 currently on the post of Deputy Operations Director, hurried to ISRO Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Today, the Chairman, K. T Ramakrishnan, had organised a press conference & she clearly knew what would the announcement would be.

“The Mars Orbiter Mission concept began with a feasibility study in 2010 by the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology after the launch of lunar satellite Chandrayaan-1 in 2008. Since then we have collected enough data.” The chairman answered. “We are planning to launch the ‘Mangalyaan’ – Mars Orbiter Mission by October 2013.”

“But sir, how can we complete a mission in 15 months?” one of the reporters questioned.

“The total cost for this mission is Rs. 450 crores, about 73 million US $. This mission is important to us as there are many unanswered questions related to the Red Planet like how it was formed? Was there any life on it? When earth was molten mass, Mars was supposed to have abundant water & also a thick atmosphere for sustaining life. What caused Mars to lose all of its favourable conditions? This mission will probably provide us all the valid answers to these questions.”

Ritika’s department was given the responsibility of detailing and the execution of the craft's onward autonomy system. It was the most difficult job in the entire mission.

“There was no interplanetary mission conducted prior to this.” The Chairman said in a meeting organised with all of the teams responsible for this mission. “Out of 51, only 21 were successful. The biggest task we have is to build a system that could do a self-diagnostic of itself & to execute all the loaded instructions with high precision. Another challenge is that the creation of software has to be new one. Also we need to keep in mind the deadline of October 2013, as once in 26 months, Mars comes near earth. If we miss this phase, we’ll have to wait for the next 26 months for the launch of our spacecraft.”

“What will be the power source for the craft?” The chairman asked in the joint meeting with all the scientists.

“To reduce down the weight & also from the cost beneficial point of view, we’ll install Nickel – Cadmium Batteries in the craft. They can be recharged easily by the solar cells on the Orbiter.” The launch team suggested.

“If we consider our earlier missions, we had used the same batteries which eventually got worn out later on. This is why the mission had failed.” Ritika answered back. “I would suggest instead of that, we can use Lithium-ion (Li – ion) batteries. They are chargeable & much long lasting. These will help the sensors & gyroscopes to maintain its orbit around Mars.” The team was convinced at her suggestion.

“Also the on – board cameras will be designed in Ahmedabad.” The launch team suggested. “We shall be launching it in GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle). We have used this in many of our earlier missions. Also, to monitor the orbiting & launch, we have asked help from 32 other nations who have agreed to help us on this mission.”

The first engine firing testing was done in Tamil Nadu in October 2012.

In June 2013, all the tests on the craft were conducted successfully.

“Mangalyaan was successfully tested for extreme high & low temperatures, high frequency sounds, high intensity lights & survival in vacuum.” Ritika informed the director, “The craft has passed all the tests with precision. We have planned to install the craft on GSLV by 5th August 2013.”

Ritika had checked all her on-board system calculations with 100% precision. The same was explained to all the engineers in the Launch department.

On 28th July, Ritika was checking the past data regarding GSLV, when something serious caught her attention. She did all her calculations & came up with a vital solution.

“We have a major problem sir,” she immediately informed the Chairman, “We had done our calculations considering the launch to be in GSLV. Our orbits around the earth were designed accordingly. But the past data suggests that GSLV has failed twice in the earlier missions. The engineers are still trying to solve the problems related to its engines. But we can’t wait for the new set of rockets for three years. Therefore…” she handed the project reports to him, “I think we shall launch it in PSLV meaning Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. With a low powered PSLV, since we are not able to launch the spacecrafts into mars trajectory, we will launch it into a series of elliptical orbits around earth.” She then explained it with a diagram, “With every elliptical orbit, the spacecraft, using its own thrusters, will keep moving away from earth. We’ll have to use a total of 6 engine burns to put the spacecraft directly into the mars trajectory, about 25 days after launch as per our calculations. That means, the spacecraft has to carry more fuel, which will increase its weight.”

Nevertheless, Ritika’s solution was accepted by the directors. For launch with PSLV, an additional fuel tank was added in the spacecraft & some parts of its design were modified.

With these changes, the installation of the craft started on 5th August, 2013. The mounting of the 5 scientific instruments was done in ISRO’s Satellite Centre, Bengaluru & the finished spacecraft was shipped to Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota on 2 October 2013 for integration to the PSLV-XL C-25 launch vehicle. 28th October, 2013 was finalised as the launch date. Two telemetry naval ships by the Indian Navy had been deployed about more than a month earlier to study the movements of the craft, designated to reach the islands of Fiji by the launch date.

The engineers finished assembling the spacecraft on C-25 in 15-20 days & the rocket was ready to launch on 28th October, 2013 from Sriharikota.

“Ritika, we have a problem…” the communication’s team informed her, “I just got a radio message from one of the telemetry ships supposed to reach Fiji today… The ship couldn’t reach its designated location in Fiji waters. Only one of it has reached & the other has got stalled in the Australian waters due to a major storm in the Indian Ocean.”

“What do you mean we’ll have to postpone the launch?” The director said, annoyed, “Ritika, the PSLV is already in position…! We are supposed to launch it in 2 days…”

“But sir, try & understand…! We need to monitor every movement & every orbit of the spacecraft before it is launched in Trans-mars injection…! We need to have this ship in place for clear observation of the Orbiter…!” Ritika confirmed her calculations.

The director had no option but to postpone the launch by one week.

Finally, on 5th November, 2013 all the technicians & engineers were present in SDSC. The take-off time was scheduled at 15:00 PM IST (09:30 AM UTC). As the lift off time approached, all the scientists gathered in the control room in ISRO’s Satellite Centre, Bengaluru.

Back in Sriharikota, the engineer’s team were busily preparing the final preparations for take-off.

At 14:30 PM, the chief engineer started the final briefing.

“OK team, I need a Final go/no-go from all the departments….” he then looked at his team as he called out, “Dynamics?”

“Go…!”

“Communications?”

“Go…!”

“Systems?”

“Go…!”

“Mechanics?”

“Go…!”

“OK. Initiate the launch sequence..!”

Back in the ISRO’s satellite centre, everyone was anxious & tensed. A live footage was displayed on the big screen, showing the C-25 ready for lift off. At exactly 14:59:50 PM, the countdown sequence was initiated.

“10…9…8…7….6…” As Ritika heard the countdown progression, she crossed her fingers. Everyone were silent in the centre, anxiously waiting for the C-25 to take off.

At exactly 15:00 PM, the rocket took off.

“Altitude stable & rising. C-25 speed about 16.28 km/s. Lift off successful…Repeat…Lift off successful. Over to Satellite Centre for further controls.”

As the SDSC made this announcement, everyone clapped their hands. Ritika and her team immediately took over the controls.

At exactly 15:10 PM IST, 10 minutes after launch, Ritika received an incoming signal.

“We have got incoming reports from Port Blair & Brunei. C-25 is rising in altitude & at right speed.”

At 15:15 PM, Observation centres in Indonesia & Jakarta confirmed the Launch & altitude.

“We are now waiting for the telemetry ships to confirm the launch in orbit.”

At 15:20 PM IST (09:50 AM UTC), the communication team announced the signals received from the ships: “Altitude 264.1 kms. Inclination angle 19.20 degrees. Both the antenna and all three sections of the solar panel arrays deployed. Orbital Mass – 1337.2 kgs. Mangalyaan successfully launched in orbit…Repeat… Mangalyaan successfully launched in orbit.”

Everyone in the centre gave a huge round of applause.

Ritika and her team immediately started monitoring the spacecraft. The Orbiter was now rotating around earth in elliptical orbits, the nearest point being 264 kms & the farthest point being 23,904 kms. ISRO had planned to keep raising its orbital radius, so that it keeps going further away from earth. When it subsequently reaches the farthest point, the on-board engine will automatically ignite the fuel, ejecting the craft away from earth towards Mars. This was the first most critical point in the entire mission.

Ritika had already instructed the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking & Command Network (ISTRAC) to perform a series of 6 engine burns using the spacecraft’s on-board propulsion system to keep raising the orbit of the craft away from earth. She then instructed to carry out a 7th burn to subsequently raise the craft to its intended orbit & to project it away from earth.

On 30th November, 2013 the craft was raised to its required altitude of 1,92,875 kms away from earth, in the final orbit raising manoeuvre.

As per the calculations, at 23:00 PM IST, the Trans-Mars Injection was scheduled, as this was exactly the time the Mangalyaan should exit earth’s orbit, because after 300 days it was supposed to eject towards Mars.

Ritika’s team & the entire control team were waiting at the ISRO’s satellite centre in Bengaluru. The system computers on the craft were confirming the altitude & speed of the craft with respect to earth. At about 22:45 PM IST at night, the on-board computers did a final check of the fuel available. The exact ejection point was calculated at a point of about 1,93,000 kms away from earth. The inclination angle & the desired time to Injection was sent to the on-board systems on the craft.

At 22:55 PM IST, Ritika got an incoming message.

“Sir, the system software on the craft has confirmed & initiated the fire sequence at 23:00 PM IST.”

she said looking at the readings on-screen.

At 22:58 PM, Ritika got a message indicating the on-board sequence has started the countdown for the burn.

Everyone, including Ritika, were anxious as this was the 1st crucial point in the mission. If the on-board softwares designed by her team fail to initiate the burn at the right time, the spacecraft may require extra burning time, which will burn up more fuel, causing major problems later in the mission. The fuel quantity in the spacecraft was limited and it was not possible to put in extra fuel, as it could have increased the weight.

Exactly at 23:00 PM IST, she got a signal.

“Sir, the burn sequence has started correctly.” She informed the team.

Calculating the time required for the fuel to burn, at 23:00:06 PM IST, the Deep Space Antennae confirmed the movement of the craft.

The control centre then announced the news everyone was waiting for: “Our Deep Space Antennae & NASA’s Deep Space Network have confirmed the Trans-Mars Injection is successful. The Mangalyaan is perfectly in Orbit towards Mars.”

This was a very big achievement for Ritika & her team as major of the missions had failed exactly at this point owing to multiple failures in the on-board softwares. Ritika had almost done half of the job perfectly without any errors.

“To keep the Orbiter in perfect orbit towards Mars, we’ll have to plan a series of 4 trajectory manoeuvres in the time span available.” Ritika informed the communications team.

Of the 4 trajectories planned, only three were carried out, as the spacecraft was following the designed path so closely that a 4th one was not required.

Finally, after a long journey of 300 days, after crossing more than 650 million kms, the spacecraft finally reached about 500 kms nearer to Mars in September 2014. The spacecraft’s engines were now supposed to restart & push the Orbiter into Martian Orbit. As scheduled, only 3 times the engines were fired, and it was now up to the on-board systems to fire it on their own. The NASA centres in California & Canberra were monitoring the movements of the spacecraft.

As per calculations, 24th September, 2014 came up as the date when the on board softwares will start the burn & propel the spacecraft into the Martian Orbit. This was another major point in the mission. The most important point was the engine should fire at exactly at the designated point. If it fires early or late, the spacecraft may get lost & will be permanently out of orbit, resulting in the failure of mission.

On 24th September, Ritika and her team reached early morning in ISRO’s Satellite Centre in Bengaluru. Today all the major dignitaries of ISRO as well as from India, including the Prime Minister, were present in the centre to witness this historic moment.

At 7:00 AM IST, the communications team got a message from the on-board systems on the spacecraft.

“We have got a confirmation message from the system computers. The on-board sequence software has started itself correctly as per the designated time.” The communications team confirmed the message. Ritika felt relieved as the on-board systems were functioning perfectly.

Ritika then got another incoming message from the Spacecraft’s on-board computers. The main engine had started firing, precisely at the point designated to it. She then checked the Radar readings.

“The on-board ejection sequence has started correctly. Mangalyaan is now moving towards Mars.” She proudly announced on the communication system.

This was a big moment of success for the entire ISRO team. Everyone clapped their hands as this was a big breakthrough that was achieved. Most of the earlier missions had failed at exactly this point.

However, now another major & most important phase had started. The spacecraft should be properly inserted in the orbit. There were many chances of failure at this point too. If the on-board systems shut down the engine too early or too late, the spacecraft may lose the orbit & crash down directly on Martian surface, resulting in the failure of this mission.

At 7:25 AM IST, after 25 minutes, the systems readings indicated the engines had stopped firing.

“The Orbiter has now gone behind Mars in an elliptical orbit. Mars has occulted the spacecraft, which will last for 30 minutes. No reading can be obtained in this time span. The next data will be received after 30 minutes.” The communications team announced.

All the radars went blank. The space craft was now orbiting behind Mars. Initially all the data received indicated all things had gone right. However, the next 30 minutes were quite crucial as the spacecraft has to complete one full orbit around Mars, which will then indicate it is launched correctly in orbit.

The entire Satellite centre was silent. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the big screen for any incoming data.

Ritika was the most anxious at this stage. All of the on-board softwares, all the systems designed by her & her team had done extremely well until now. Everything zeroed down to this most important movement.

Somehow the 30 minutes passed in absolute silence. At 7:55 AM, the communications team called up the NASA Satellite Centre in California. The Deep Space Antennae in ISRO could only view the Orbiter for 8 hours. For the next 16 hours, ISRO had to depend on Satellite centres of NASA & South Africa for the data.

“This is the Mangalyaan team from ISRO, India. Have we received a visual on the spacecraft?”

“This is the NASA Satellite Centre in California.” The engineers replied. “Negative. We have no visual as of now. All the Antennae’s are directed towards Mars to check for any movement.”

This increased the tension in all the staff. Almost more than 30 minutes had passed and no data was still received.

The Occult phase was supposed to end. It was almost 7:58 AM. All of the scientists were tensed.

Exactly at 8:00 AM IST, the Centre got an incoming call.

“This is the NASA Satellite Centre in California. Do you read me?”

The communications team immediately responded, “This is the ISRO Communications Team. Yes we do read you….”

“The Altitude of the spacecraft is 421 kms from Mars in a highly elliptical orbit.” Then came the announcement for which everyone was waiting, “Congratulations ISRO, you people have created history. Mangalyaan is successfully launched in Martian Orbit.”

The whole hall was filled with claps, joy & happiness. Post this announcement, Ritika checked her screen & saw that the Radar readings clearly indicated the Spacecraft was rotating exactly in a perfect elliptical orbit around Mars. All the on-board systems & softwares were functioning accurately. The on-board cameras then sent actual photos of the Martian surface to ISRO.

The PM of India came down & congratulated all the members of ISRO who were working on this challenging mission.

The whole world started congratulating ISRO for this marvellous achievement. NASA’s Curiosity Rover & Maven Mission congratulated ISRO on Twitter. By this accomplishment, India became the 4th nation

after Russia, USA & Europe to successfully launch the Orbiter in 1st attempt.

ISRO also made this the most economical mission ever, with a budget of only Rs. 452 crores ($73 million) in the shortest possible time of 15 months. Also it was the first Indian Satellite having full on-board on scale autonomy.

Ritika couldn’t believe that she was a part of this most difficult operation. All the on-board software systems which did a major part in the entire mission were designed by her team.

The Chairman of ISRO & the PM of India personally congratulated Ritika for her wonderful work which made this mission a wonderful success.

Ritika Krishnamurthy, a Graduate in Physics & with a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering, achieved this impossible feat at a young age. Coming from a Lower Middle class family, she never gave up on her passion & finally made her country proud in the most arduous mission ever .

She was then awarded the Young Scientist Award by the President of India for her immense contribution in all the major projects of ISRO.