The pinnacle of Indian space odyssey, Mangalyaan, eclipsed for 15 days on Monday as all communication from the spacecraft has been cut off. A senior ISRO official told media in Bengaluru that Mars Mission spacecraft orbiter got ‘eclipsed’ on early Monday as the sun has come in between the Earth and the Red Planet for the next 15 days.
The ISRO scientists said the spacecraft was put on autopilot mode. The spacecraft is orbiting around the red planet since September 2014 and had completed six months of lifespan.
“The eclipse is a cosmic phenomenon. There is no cause for concern as the orbiter has been put on autopilot mode to pass the eclipse phase. Though our command network will not receive or send any signal during the eclipse or blackout, we will regain control over the spacecraft as soon as it comes out of the Martian shadow,” an ISRO official added.
The 1,340-kg spacecraft put India on the select list of countries which has the capabilities to send a spacecraft to the Red Planet. India created history by becoming the first country to enter the Mars orbit in maiden attempt after a nine-month voyage through the inter-planetary space.
India also became the first Asian country to have entered the Mars sphere of influence (gravity) in its maiden attempt. A similar mission by China failed in 2011.
Rs 450-crore Mars mission was launched on November 5, 2013, on board a polar rocket from ISRO’s spaceport Sriharikota off the Bay of Bengal in Andhra Pradesh. The five scientific payloads (instruments) on board will continue to collect data and relay them after June 22 to our earth stations for analysis.
Of the five payloads on board, Mars Colour Camera (MCC) has been the most active, taking stunning images of the Red Planet’s surface and its surroundings, including valleys, mountains, craters, clouds and dust storms.
The other four instruments have been conducting various experiments to study the Martian surface, its mineral composition and scan its atmosphere for methane gas to know if it can support life.