Firing the 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor on Monday afternoon positioned India’s Mars Orbiter in the ‘Entry into Sphere of Influence of Mars’.
This means the Mangalyaan is on the right path to position itself to go around Mars.
Scientists at India Space Research Organisation’s Mission Operations Complex, Peenya, Bangalore, carried out a set of commands — the fourth trajectory correction manoeuvre and the test-firing of the main liquid engine.
The duration of the firing of engine was 3.968 seconds and fuel consumption was 0.567 kg and trajectory corrected to 2.142 m/s. Now the stage is set for the D-Day — September 24 — for the final crucial manoeuvre to place the Orbiter in the Mars orbit.
An ISRO statement said, “Our navigators’ calculations show that Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) has entered the Gravitational Sphere of Influence of Mars. The orbiter was within 5.4 lakh km radius of the Mars’ Gravitational Sphere of Influence.”
On a 666-million km journey, the spacecraft escaped the earth gravity on December 1 last. In the last lap on September 24, the Orbiter has to be slowed down from 22.1 km per second to 4.4 km per second to be captured by the Mars orbit. The engine will be fired for 24 minutes on that day to reduce its velocity and the insertion into the Martian orbit.