ISRO aims for Mars, to build another 1,000cr launch pad

13 Jul 2010 8ak: With yesterday's successful launch of PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) carrying remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2b and 4 others from countries including Algeria, ISRO is now aiming for Mars. The steps will be unmanned test, manned space mission, then a trip to the moon and while they are at it, hey, why not beat the world to Mars!

At the seminar on 'Advances in Planetary Atmospheres and Exploration', Prof U. R. Rao, Chairman, Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) council, ISRO DOS said that India already has a blueprint for a mission to Mars and other planetary objects. See here.

First an unmanned space module is being designed and will be launched on a PSLV. While the manned vehicle will use a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), ISRO still needs further tests and re-designs to overcome the previous failure of its cryogenic engine and build in additional reliability/redundancies to make it suitable for human flight. Great article on Telegraph about the mission.

ISRO has however had its fair share of failures but should be considered normal in light of the high number of successes it has had. On July 11, an IANS report blamed the failures on power-related systems and particularly on an imported component. Meanwhile, the Hindu reports that the Apr 15 failure of the GSLV has been attributed to the failure of a fuel booster turbo pump (FBTP) which cut-off supply of liquid hydrogen to the engine. 

The timetable ISRO executives gave reporters post the PSLV launch stated that an unmanned module will be launched by 2013 and a manned flight anywhere between 2015 to 2020. Manned space flights will require another launch pad which the ISRO has projected will cost it Rs 1,000 crore (US$220 million).

At the same time, a group that formed on social networking site Linkedin is planning a private sector space initiative. Team Aryabhatta brings together ambitious global Indians to put together an Indian competitor in the US$30 million dollar 'Google Lunar X PRIZE' challenge. The competition is to safely land a robot on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send images and data back to the Earth. More on this venture and a call for Indians globally to assist the team coming up as 8ak interviews Mirza Faizan and Amit Sarkar.