M3 Science Blog

It is with great sadness that we confirm that Chandrayaan-1, M3’s host spacecraft, has been lost and the mission has been terminated by ISRO. Here is part of a note from the Chandrayaan-1 Project Director, relaying the news to the M3 team:

“On 29th Aug early hours we lost contact with ISRO and Mission has been
officially declared terminted by Chairman, ISRO.
At this point of time I would like to place my sincere thanks to all of
you and your team for being  part of this historic mission.
Against many odds, the mission has almost accomplished its objectives.
Science results will be coming out soon.”

We are of course disappointed that the problem occurred only ten months into the 2 year nominal timeframe of the mission, but are nevertheless very proud of the success that Chandrayaan-1 and M3 had during its operational lifetime.  It has been an honor to be part of India’s first mission to the Moon.

M3 collected over 4.6 billion spectra at a spectral resolution unprecedented in lunar remote sensing.  Our low resolution mode spatial coverage nearly encompasses the entire Moon.  We have barely begun to harvest all of these spectacular data, but are excited that initial results will be presented at the DPS Meeting in October and the Fall AGU Meeting in San Francisco.  Soon the M3 team will be able to announce some incredibly exciting results to the public for the first time.   So while we mourn the loss of a great instrument and a great spacecraft, we are excited about the great science still yet to come!

August 4, 2009:  NASA’s Moon Mapper Beholds Home

Image of Earth from the Moon acquired by the NASA Discovery Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) that is a guest instrument onboard the ISRO Chandrayaan-1 Mission to the Moon.  Australia is visible in the lower center of the image. The image is presented as a false color composite with oceans dark blue, clouds white, and vegetation enhanced green. The data were acquired on the 22nd of July 2009 during a local solar eclipse.  More information, including a link to a full-resolution version of this image can be found here.

ISRO’s Terrain Mapper Camera also captured the eclipse. Shown here are two images in the sequence showing the shadow of the Moon as it crossed from China into the Pacific ocean.  More images can be found here.