Three out of five Indian payloads that would travel to the space via India’s Moon Mission Chanrayaan-1 have Ahmedabad connection. While one payload was developed at Ahmedabad based Physical Science Laboratory, two payloads were developed at Ahmedabad based Space Application Centre.

Chandrayaan-1 will carry 11 payloads (scientific instruments). Of these, five are India’s very own, three are from the European Space Agency (ESA), two are from NASA and one is from Bulgaria.

The Indian payloads include the Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyperspectral Imager, High Energy X-ray Spectrometer, Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) and a 29 kg Moon Impact Probe (MIP).

While the LLRI will provide the necessary data for determining the accurate altitude of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft above the lunar surface, the MIP will pave way for future soft landing missions on the moon by demonstrating the technologies required for landing a probe at the desired location.

Among the equipments developed at Ahmedabad is the Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) which will map the complete topography of the moon with a resolution of 5 metres. It can image a part of the lunar surface about 20 km wide and will work in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, capturing black and white stereo images. The data from the TMC along with the one collected by the Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument will help scientists map the lunar gravitational field as well.

Another is the Hyperspectral Imager (HySI), also built by ISRO’s Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad. HySI will help map minerals on the lunar surface along with the mineralogical composition of the moon’s interior. This imager, with a resolution of 80 metres and operating in the visible and near infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, can image a strip about 20 km wide.

The High Energy X-ray Spectrometer(HEX), jointly built by the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad and ISRO’s Satellite Centre Bangalore is another key equipment, which will identify polar regions covered by thick water-ice deposits. It will also identify regions of high uranium and thorium concentrations on the moon.
A film on Chandrayan(India’s Moon Mission):