Going to Mars:

Rockets & human pods

Going to Mars is a challenging engagement. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the US Space Agency has sent several missions to planet Mars in the last few decades. Some of them have been fly-by missions involving an Orbiter module that is flown on a rocket from Earth and put into orbit around Mars. The Orbiter module revolves around Mars and captures vital information about Mars using its on-board cameras and scientific instruments. The camera takes photos of Martian surface and terrain, while the scientific instruments help the Orbiter identify the chemical and gaseous components of Mars surface as well as its atmosphere. The collected data is then sent to monitoring facilities on Earth for analysis. The Indian Space Research Organization has also sent an Orbiter to Mars in 2019. Both America and China have sent Landers and Rovers to Mars to undertake scientific experiments on the Martian surface. The Rover can be remotely programmed and operated by scientists from Earth. In 2021, NASA successfully flew a Helicopter on Mars. It was named "Ingenuity". The landers, rovers, and helicopter were piggy-backed on powerful rockets in order to reach Mars.

While Man has been to the Moon and back with the first successful mission in 1969, man is yet to set foot on Mars. However, NASA has planned a human mission to Mars in 2030s. Carrying humans to Mars will require several technological advancements. The mission will not only require powerful rockets to reach Mars over a 7-9 month-long journey, but also require a Human Pod that is mounted as a payload on top of the rocket. The Human Pod is used to carry a few astronauts. When the rocket reaches Mars, the Human Pod has to detach itself from the rocket and descend carefully to land on Mars. Humans on Mars will also need a Buggy to move around and collect rock samples and conduct scientific instruments. Later, the Human Pod has to take off from the Martian surface and return back to Earth safely. During the round trip, the key challenge is to ensure that humans survive the mission.

Rocket Launch Video

Rocket on Launch Pad

A launch pad is a facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space-launch vehicle is vertically launched. The term launch pad can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire complex (launch complex). The entire complex will include a launch mount or launch platform to physically support the vehicle, a service structure with umbilicals, and the infrastructure required to provide propellants, cryogenic fluids, electrical power, communications, telemetry, rocket assembly, payload processing, storage facilities for propellants and gases, equipment, access roads, and drainage. Most launch-pads are located close to the sea shore. In case the rocket fails during lift off, it will safely fall into the sea.

Rocket Facts

1. Who invented modern-day rockets?

The first rockets that were used in modern rocketry was invented by Dr. Robert Goddard.

2. What are rockets used for?

Rockets are now used for launching artificial satellites, for human spaceflight, and for space exploration.

3. What is the principle of rockets?

Rockets operate on the principle of Newton's third-law of motion which states: "For every action, there is equal and opposite reaction". Most rockets use high-speed exhaust gases from burning rocket fuel to propel themselves up and away from Earth's surface to the vacuum of space.

4. How does a rocket launch?

A rocket carries engines, propellants, tanks, and payloads on board. When the rocket expels gas out of its engine (action), it pushes on the gas, and the gas pushes back on the rocket (reaction). In order to lift the rocket off the launch pad, the thrust from the engine has to push past the weight of the rocket.

5. What are the four parts of a rocket?

- Nose Cone: Carries the payload or cargo which can be human beings, satellite or even weapons.
- Fins: Fins keep the rocket flying straight. Without the fins, the rocket would tumble out of control.
- Body: The body holds the rocket engine and propellant (rocket fuel). Fins are attached to the rocket body.
- Engine: The rocket engine burns the propellant. The propellant consists of the fuel and oxidizer (e.g., oxygen).

6. What are the stages of a rocket?

- Stage 1: The stage 1 contains solid propellant in two or four strap-on boosters attached to the main rocket body. The stage 1 boosters detach themselves from the main rocket body once their propellant is burnt.
- Stage 2: The stage 2 is the main rocket body that contains additional propellant to take the rocket to intended orbit.
- Stage 3: Stage 3 of the rocket allows the payload of the rocket to change direction and cruise through space in order to reach its intended destination, for e.g., Mars. The payload can include scientific instruments, satellites or human pod (one that carries human beings to space).

7. Why do rockets use multiple stages?

Because the amount of fuel it takes to launch a rocket is so high, modern rockets use a staging system. Once a stage has emptied out all its fuel, it detaches and returns to Earth so that the second stage can keep going without having to drag along the extra weight of the empty fuel tanks.

8. What is the typical propellants used in rockets?

Propellent is made up of fuel and oxidizer. Typical fuels include kerosene, alcohol, hydrazine and its derivatives, and liquid hydrogen. Oxidizers include nitric acid, nitrogen tetroxide, liquid oxygen, and liquid fluorine.

9. What are boosters?

Boosters are additional rockets that provide boost (thrust) to the main rocket during lift-off.

10. What is the purpose of using a rocket?

A rocket is a vehicle that is used to carry a payload or cargo (such as an artificial satellite or a human pod) to space and deliver it to it's intended orbit or destination in space.

Rocket Launch

The strap-on boosters are additional boosters that are strapped around the main rocket body. The strap-on boosters and the main rocket booster are fired simultaneously at the time of launch, giving additional thrust to the rocket.

The strap-on boosters give extra thrust to the core rocket booster (within the main body of the rocket) allowing the rocket to carry heavier payloads (cargo), or go farther into space.

Stage 1 (Boosters) Separation

The strap-on boosters separate themselves from the main rocket body and fall off once it has run its course and has exhausted its fuel.

Stage 2 Separation

The main rocket body contains additional propellent to take the rocket to its intended orbit. Once the rocket has reached its intended orbit, and the rocket tank has run out of fuel, the main body of the rocket separates from the payload and falls off. The payload has its own engines that can be maneuvered from ground-control to put it in its final orbit around the Earth, Moon, or another planet.

Human Pod Separation

The Human Pod is part of the rocket's payload that contains a chamber for traveling astronauts (or Gaganauts) to reside and conduct scientific experiments in space. The Human Pod separates from the rocket once the rocket reaches its intended orbit. The Human Pod contains its own engine and navigation system that allows it to move on its own accord in space or land on another planet. Once the mission is accomplished, the human pod can be brought back to Earth, and made to land on the sea using parachutes.

Inside a Human Pod

The Human Pod is the living quarters in which astronauts stay and work during their mission in Space or their trip to Mars. It is a pressurized cabin in which the astronauts can breathe, relax, eat food, exercise and conduct experiments.

Human Pod landing on Sea

A parachute enables the Human pod to land slowly and safely back to Earth. Once the Human Pod has landed on Sea, inflatable tubes opens around it, allowing the Human Pod to float on water like a boat. A crew is dispatched from a nearby Ship to recover the Human Pod and the astronauts within it.

India's space launch vehicles

Launchers or Launch Vehicles are used to carry spacecraft to space. India has two operational launchers: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), while in the past, India has used smaller satellite launch vehicles such as SLV and ASLV.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid fuel. After its first successful launch in October 1994, PSLV emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively successful missions by June 2017. During 1994-2017 period, the vehicle has launched 48 Indian satellites and 209 satellites for customers from abroad.

Besides, the vehicle successfully launched two spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 – that later traveled to Moon and Mars respectively.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is a space launch vehicle designed, developed, and operated by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to launch satellites and other space objects into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits. Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is the largest launch vehicle developed by India, which is currently in operation. GSLV MkIII, chosen to launch Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO.

On 12th August 2021, in a setback for India’s space programme, the GSLV-F10 rocket failed midway in its mission to put into orbit the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-03). The 2,268 kg EOS-03 communication satellite carried by the rocket was lost.

India's Missions to the moon and the mars

Chandrayaan 1:

Chandrayaan-1 was the first Indian lunar probe to explore the Moon. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission included a lunar orbiter and an Impactor.

On 14 November 2008, the Moon Impact Probe separated from the Chandrayaan orbiter at 14:36 UTC and struck the south pole in a controlled manner, making India the fourth country to place its flag insignia on the Moon.

Chandrayaan 2:

Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1. It was launched on 22nd July 2019 using the GSLV Mark III launch vehicle. Chandrayaan-2 consists of a lunar orbiter, Vikram lander, and Pragyan lunar rover - all of which were developed in India. The main scientific objective was to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water. While the mission was successful in putting the Lunar Orbiter around Moon's orbit and is continuing to function well even today, the Vikram lander (along with the Pragyan rover) crashed to the Moon's surface on 6th September 2019 while descending from the Orbiter orbiting the Moon. As a result of the crash, the rover could not be operated further.

Vikram Lander

Chandrayaan 2

Pragyan Rover

Chandrayaan 3:

Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. It was launched on 14th July 2023 from Sriharikota launch pad in Andhra Pradesh. The lunar orbiter was put into lunar orbit, and subsequently, Vikram - lander module detached itself from the Orbiter and touched down successfully on the lunar surface (near the lunar south pole) on 23rd August 2023. Thereafter, Pragyaan rover moved out of the lander module and started moving around the lunar surface. It conducted various scientific experiments before it was switched off at the end of the lunar day.

Mars Orbiter Mission 1 (Mangalyaan 1):

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched it's first mission to Mars in 2013 when a PSLV XL C25 rocket was used to carry a Mars Orbiter. The Orbiter was placed in Martian orbit on 24th September 2014 after a 9.5 month journey from Earth. The Mars Orbiter has since been observing the Martian surface features, atmosphere, effect of solar wind, and radiation.

It made India the first Asian nation to reach Martian orbit and the first nation in the world to do so on its maiden attempt. The total cost of the mission was approximately ₹450 Crore (US$73 million), making it the least expensive Mars mission to date.

Gaganyaan Mission

The Gaganyaan Mission is part of India's human space-flight programme. The mission is still under development and is yet to be launched.

Gaganyaan crew module is a fully autonomous spacecraft designed to carry a 4-member crew to orbit (400 kms above Earth) and safely return to the Earth after a mission duration of up to seven days. The development and testing of the crew module is currently in progress.

If all goes as planned, the first Gaganyaan mission may be launched sometime in the year 2028 carrying 4 astronauts (or "Gaganauts" as they are called in India).

Four Indian astronauts have been selected as part of the first Gaganyaan mission:

Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair
Group Captain Ajit Krishnan
Group Captain Angad Pratap
Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla

activities:

Below, you will find two types of activities:

Digital Activity
Physical Activity

You can use the knowledge acquired in this module to complete and submit either a digital activity, or a physical activity or both. The choice is yours, but submitting at least one activity per module is important to receive participation certificate at the end of the bootcamp.

DIGITAL ACTIVITY

Complete ANY ONE of the below activities using a digital or AI tool of your choice:

Design a 3D Model of a multi-stage rocket. Have it 3D printed using the 3D printer in your ATL.
Design a 3D Model of a Human Pod (inside and outside view). Have it 3D printed using the 3D printer in your ATL.
Design and simulate a multi-stage rocket using OpenRocket simulation tool.
Develop an eBook, Video, or Alexa Quiz on how a rocket is built, how it flies, its applications, etc.
Develop an interesting game that uses a rocket to strike down asteroids and other celestial objects headed in the direction of Earth and threatening mankind.

Customize or enhance the above activities further as per your interest and bandwidth.

If you need guidance in using AI-based digital tools, please click here.

Submitting your Digital Activity: Click the "Submit Activity" button at the bottom of this page to submit your digital activity. In the submission form, paste the link to your digital creation directly from the online tool, or paste the link to your digital creation from your Google Drive folder. Ensure that the link has "public access" or "Anyone with the link can view".

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Design and build a model of a Rocket to carry human beings to Mars.

The rocket should have the following components:

It should have three stages.
- - Two booster rockets (first stage)
  - A second-stage of rocket fuel tank
  - A third-stage of rocket fuel tank
A human pod to carry human beings above the third stage.
An escape pod to carry humans back to Earth in case the rocket fails.

Materials to use:

- - PVC pipes and PVC reducer collars
  - KG cardboard sheets
  - Fevicol
  - Double-sided Glue tape
  - Glue gun
  - Bamboo sticks
  - Water colors
  - Sketch pens
  - Crayons

Customize your Rocket:

- - Wrap the rocket with KG cardboard sheets
  - Fix the rocket cone and nozzles using KG cardboard sheets
  - Put a label of the space organization (NASA, ISRO, etc.) on the rocket
  - Paint a flag on the rocket using sketch pens or crayons
  - Give a name to the rocket and put the name on the rocket fuel tank

Submitting your Physical Activity: Take a photo or video clip of your physical prototype or model and upload it to your Google Drive folder. Click the "Submit Activity" button at the bottom of this page to submit your physical activity. In the activity submission form, paste the link to the photo or video uploaded on your Google Drive folder. Ensure that the link has "public access" or "Anyone with the link can view".

Take the Quiz

Submit Activity

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