Chandrayaan-1: Laser payload turned on

Chandrayaan-1: Laser payload turned on

Jayesh Limaye, Nov 17, 2008 1522 hrs IST

This laser payload sends pulses of infrared laser light towards a strip of lunar surface and detects and analyzes the reflected portion of that light.

Now that the MIP is on the lunar surface, further mission objectives are being realized. Two days after the MIP landed on the Moon, the lunar laser ranging instrument (LLRI) on board India's first unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 was switched on.

ISRO stated in a statement "The instrument was turned on when the spacecraft was orbiting over the western part of the moon's visible atmosphere. Initial data indicated the instrument's performance is normal."

This laser payload sends pulses of infrared laser light towards a strip of lunar surface and detects and analyzes the reflected portion of that light. The wavelength of the light used in this case is 1,064 nm. This instrument also accurately measures the altitude of the spacecraft above the lunar surface and the Moon's surface features.

The LLRI will take 10 measurements per second on both, day as well as night side of the Moon and provide topographical details of its polar and equatorial regions.

A space agency official said "Analysis of the LLRI data helps in understanding the internal structure of the moon, the way the celestial body evolved over millions of years and the way its large surface features changed over time."

Built by ISRO's laboratory for electro-optic systems in Bangalore, LLRI is the fourth of the 11 scientific payloads onboard Chandrayaan, orbiting 100 km above the moon's surface.

The statement added "Chandrayaan will use high resolution remote sensing in the visible, near infrared, microwave and X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum to map the moon over the next two years. It will enable preparation of a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and help map it chemically."

The LLRI will take high resolution images, which will help in understand how the Moon evolved. This data will also help in better understanding the moon's gravitational field.

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(16) Comments

Arnab Kumar Mon

,Kolkata, on Nov 20, 2008 02:19 PM

What is the nature of radioactive particle present in the moon is the vital factor for generating power to ease the oxygen factor in the moon. In future the radioactive particle present in the moon will be used to generate oxygen in the artificial atmosphere of the moon. The minerals map generating instrument of the Chandrayan-I will be a great chapter for the future astronaught and astrophysicist.

Chandrayaan-1: Laser payload turned on

This laser payload sends pulses of infrared laser light towards a strip of lunar surface and detects and analyzes the reflected portion of that light.

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