Indian scientists name Mars craters, eye Mangalyaan-2 mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is celebrating a new achievement: naming craters on Mars with Indian connections. This brings back the enthusiasm from India’s first Mars mission, Mangalyaan, and sets the stage for the next mission, Mangalyaan-2, which aims for a soft landing on the Red Planet.

One of the craters named is ‘Lal’, after the esteemed physicist Professor Devendra Lal, who led the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad from 1972 to 1983. Lal, a cosmic ray physicist who later worked in San Diego, is honored with a 69-kilometer-wide crater in Mars’ southern hemisphere.

The findings, published in the ICARUS journal, suggest Mars once had flowing water. Two smaller craters, named Mursan and Hilsa, on either side of Lal Crater, show evidence of water moving sediments into the larger crater over time.

Mangalyaan-2: India’s Next Bold Step in Mars Exploration

Mursan, about 10 kilometers wide, is named after a small town in Uttar Pradesh, the birthplace of PRL’s current director, Dr. Anil Bharadwaj. He states, “Small craters on Mars can only be named after small towns, hence the team zeroed in on Mursan.” Hilsa, also 10 kilometers wide, is named after a town in Bihar, where scientist Dr. Rajeev Ranjan Bharti, part of the discovery team, was born.

India’s first Mars mission, Mangalyaan, launched in 2013, has already marked a significant Indian presence on Mars with craters like Lonar, Poona, and Kakori. The Lonar crater, for instance, is named after a town in Maharashtra formed by an asteroid impact.

Building on this success, Mangalyaan-2 aims to take India’s Mars exploration further. Dr. Bharadwaj expressed, “Mangalyaan-2 is at a conceptual stage and design work is ongoing at ISRO.” This mission may include a soft landing, deploying a rover, and even a helicopter, making India the third country to land on Mars successfully after the US and China.

The mission will use advanced technology, including a sky crane to lower the rover gently onto Mars and a supersonic parachute to handle the planet’s thin atmosphere. The helicopter, MarBLE (Martian Boundary Layer Explorer), will study Mars’ atmosphere, a significant step forward in planetary exploration.

Mangalyaan-2 aims to answer key questions about Mars, especially regarding the potential for life. Once rich in water with a thicker atmosphere, Mars holds clues to the planet’s history and its similarities to Earth. This mission will enhance our understanding of Mars and prepare us for future human missions.

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