No correction manoeuvre in August, Mars Orbiter Mission on track: ISRO

CHENNAI: ISRO scientists will not carry out the planned Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) for the ambitious Mars Orbiter Mission in August as the spacecraft is on track.

"Mars Orbiter Mission is closely following its trajectory and the mission managers have just ruled out the need for a Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM), originally planned for August 2014," ISRO said on its micro-blogging site.

..."Which means MOM needs only three out of the four TCMs originally planned for the entire heliocentric journey", it said.

Last month, Indian Space Research Organisation said Mars Orbiter spacecraft has covered more than 540 million km, about 80 per cent of its journey for its rendezvous with the planet, scheduled for September 24.

The Mars mission under a Rs 450 crore project was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( PSLV) on November 5 last year with an aim to reach the red planet's atmosphere by September 24.

The project is expected to provide the scientific community better opportunities in planetary research.