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Europe all set for lunar mission Chandrayaan-1

25 September 2008

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The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft during integration

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The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft during integration.

The payload panels, where the remote sensing instruments will be mounted, can be seen on the right. At the top, the interface panel for the Moon Impact Probe is shown where, among others, the SARA sensors will be mounted. At the time when this image was taken, only the SIR-2 instrument had been integrated.

In this orientation, the Moon will be at the bottom of the spacecraft during observations.

Credits: ISRO/ISAC

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The optics unit of SIR-2, the near-infrared spectrometer.

Light from the Moon enters the instrument through its aperture and is focused onto an optical fibre. To avoid contamination during integration, the aperture is covered with a red-tag item which will be removed shortly before launch. The body of the unit is covered in thermal insulation foil (gold).

Credits: MPS

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Integration of SARA units on the uppermost platform of the spacecraft. After this integration step, and following the integration of the remainder of the instruments, the spacecraft surface will be covered with multi-payer insulation (gold foil).

Credits: ISRO/ISAC

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The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer, C1XS, during vibration tests.

The protective cover is closed and can be seen on the right-hand side with the hinge above. The X-ray detectors are located underneath the protective cover; they are cooled with copper straps, which can be seen below the cover. The readout electronics are located inside the aluminium box at the left of the image. Vibration sensors are attached to the outside of the instrument (yellow tape).

Credits: RAL

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