Mangalyaan 2: India's second Mars mission to land spacecraft and make history; project expected to include helicopter 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: India's Mangalyaan 2 spacecraft will land directly on the surface of Mars without orbiting Mars. This is the first time that India is preparing for such an interplanetary mission. This is different from the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft that landed on the lunar surface. Mangalyaan 2 is ISRO's second Mars mission.

This was clarified by ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan. He made this known in a speech at the Navaratna Conference in Bengaluru. The date of the mission has not been announced. The second mission consists of a lander and a helicopter that will land on the surface of Mars. The 4,500-kg spacecraft will be placed into an orbit that is 190 km closer to Earth and 35,786 km away using an LVM 3 rocket. From there, the orbit size will be increased and it will move into the orbit of Mars. This is called the cruise phase. Mangalyaan 2 consists of a cruise stage and a descent stage that will land on Mars. Mangalyaan 2 will take months to reach Mars.

The direct landing will use aerobraking technology, which slows down the lander with the help of the Martian atmosphere. An outer shell capable of withstanding extreme heat and supersonic parachutes will be used for this. These will overcome the friction of the atmosphere and significantly reduce the speed of the spacecraft. When it reaches 1.3 km above the surface of Mars, the lander's engines will be activated, ensuring a controlled and precise landing.

India will join the US, China and Russia on the list if Mangalyaan 2 is successful. Mangalyaan 1, launched in 2013, was India's first mission to reach Mars' orbit. The helicopter that will help study the Martian surface is a special feature of this mission. It will be modelled after the Equality helicopter that NASA sent to Mars in 2021. It will be able to perform scientific missions while flying above the surface.