ISRO performs TCM-2 on Mars Orbiter Mission

Chennai, June 12: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has performed the second Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM-2) on its Mars Orbiter spacecraft.

"TCM-2 was performed on June 11, 2014 at 4.30 pm by firing the spacecraft's 22 Newton thrusters for a duration of 16 seconds. At present, the radio distance between the spacecraft and the Earth is 102 million km," an ISRO statement said.

"A radio signal from Earth to the Spacecraft now takes about 340 seconds," it added.

ISRO had earlier announced that the trajectory correction manoeuvre scheduled for April was not necessary and postponed it to this month.

The spacecraft so far has travelled 466 million km as part of its total journey of 680 million km. The space agency said it was continuously monitoring Mars Orbiter spacecraft using Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) and that the five scientific instruments on board the spacecraft were in "good health."

Another trajectory correction manoeuvre has been planned in August before the space agency performs the Mars Orbit Insertion in September.

The Mars mission, launched from Sriharikota on November 5 last year with an aim to reach the red planet's atmosphere by September 24 this year, already crossed the half-way mark on April 9.

The Rs 450-crore project is expected to provide the scientific community better opportunities in planetary research.

PTI