The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Mars Orbiter Mission
(MOM) completed yet another milestone when it was slung out of the
earth's orbit in a Saturday midnight manoeuvre.
The MOM, set to reach the red planet in September 2014, is
showing all signs of taking India's dreams to new heights. With the
22-minute long slingshot manoeuvre that fired up the spacecraft's
engines, the craft is now out of the earth's orbit and on its course to
its final destination of a Martian orbit.
The manoeuvre was carried out around 00.49 hours IST on the
intervening night of November 30 and December 1. There were some anxious
moments, as data on its status was not immediately available from a
ground station in South Africa because of weather issues.
But
the excitement was palpable not just among ISRO scientists, but among
science enthusiasts around the world. ISRO's hugely popular facebook
page -- https://www.facebook.com/isromom -- had common citizens on edge,
watching out late into the night, asking for instant and live updates.
Considering that more than half the missions to Mars around the
world have failed - and that no country has succeeded in its first
mission - there is almost breathless waiting in the ISRO community. The
Mars craft will reach its Martian orbit after 10 months - in September
2014 - and then carry out designated experiments while orbiting Mars for
the next six months.
Here's what Programme Director Dr Mylswamy Annadurai said in an exclusive interview, hours after the Sunday manoeuvre:
CNN-IBN: In three days, there's further navigation?
Dr Mylswamy Annadurai: Yes another milestone is expected.
MOM goes totally out of the sphere of earth's influence. All along from
November 5th (when it was launched), till now, it was orbiting the
earth. It was with this manoeuvre that it acquired the velocity to
escape from earth's influence. But that completes 72 hours after the
actual operation (Trans-Mars interjection/ manoeuvre), so three days
from now, it will go completely out of earth's sphere so that's another
point to watch for.
CNN-IBN: I believe there was some anxiety with no data being received at one ground station?
Dr Mylswamy Annadurai: This is at a South African ground
station where because of a local thunderstorm, disruption happened. But
that's also another testing moment to see how good the mission's
autonomy worked. So without ground contact, it has done its function.
Before going to Mars orbit where it is supposed to do its own
manoeuvring without ground contact ... remember even there it takes 30-
40 minutes to carry out signals - it has already shown it has done its
job perfectly. So that way, it's a blessing in disguise, we can tell
you.
CNN-IBN: So the craft can function independently?
Dr Mylswamy Annadurai: Yes, though it was not planned that
way, the ground intervention or disturbance that happened - inspite of
that, the Mars orbiter has done its job perfectly, indicating all
systems are working flawlessly.
CNN-IBN: There are already efforts on to see whether
the time-span of the mission - after it reaches Mars - can be increased?
Considering there is enough fuel on board?
Dr Mylswamy Annadurai: Well, if you look at any
international space agency worldwide, they design missions for a
particular duration - based on what is the intended minimum life
required so that the overall mission objective is met. So we are talking
about six months as the minimum time required for the objectives to be
met from all science and technology (experiments, research) point of
view - to reach Mars and being around Mars for six months. But if
everything goes ok, nothing stops us to go from taking stock of how the
systems are working, and extending the mission if possible. That's one
step ahead, first we have to ensure the minimum mission (purpose) is
guaranteed. Then we think about extending the mission.
CNN-IBN: The next major milestone will be in September
2014, ten months from now, when you will have to inject the spacecraft
into Mars orbit by slowing it down?
Dr Mylswamy Annadurai: The overall mission has five stages
- first stage, within the budget and schedule, to release the
satellite. Then, launching within the launch window. Those two stages
are done. Next, what we're doing now - taking the orbiter all the way to
the point of injecting into Mars orbit. The fourth stage is to put it
around Mars. Then comes the fifth stage, carry out payload operations
(that is, operating the 'payloads' or scientific instruments to carry
out experiments of Martian surface). The fourth and fifth stages are
crucial.
Although YouTube has the option of viewing videos online, still many of us feel more comfortable downloading them. This is because you may not get good speed while viewing videos online. It is suggested to download YouTube videos in 3GP to enjoy uninterrupted and good quality videos. Whether you want to download a video for a one-time watch or are fond of making a collection, downloading them in 3GP is the best option.
Below mentioned are a few websites
That help you download the YouTube videos in 3GP:-
Savevid
Savevid helps you download your favorite YouTube videos in 3GP format. This website also gives you a choice of selecting the quality of the video you intend to download, for instance there is an option of high quality, low quality and medium quality. Choose the picture and sound quality you want. You can also download YouTube videos in MP4 and FLV formats from this website.
KeepTube
This is another site that enables you to download YouTube videos in the 3GP format. The downloading process is smooth and the picture quality you get is quite fine. You can also download videos in MP4 and FLV formats from this website.
