India's Inaugural Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) Has Come To An End, After Eight Years, In The Cold Barsoomian Skies

The mission was, by any and all measures, a full success. [Though in fairness, the methane sensor never really worked, as it suffered from a lack of communications between the design and build teams -- and had to be repurposed as a reflected sunlight sensor, off the surface of Mars -- as a way to estimate ancient potential H₂O content.]

Even so, as with all spacecraft, eventually the fuel runs out. And since she lost the ability to maneuver, she could not avoid a second eclipse event in a month. . . and that seven hours of utter darkness drained her batteries, completely. Here's the story, from The Hindu.com:

. . .The ₹450 crore Mars Orbiter Mission was launched onboard PSLV-C25 on November 5, 2013, and the MOM spacecraft was successfully inserted into the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014 in its first attempt. “Right now, there is no fuel left. . . .

"[R]ecently there were back-to-back eclipses including one that lasted seven-and-half hours," officials said on condition of anonymity, noting that all the propellant on board the ageing satellite had been consumed.

"As the satellite battery is designed to handle eclipse duration of only about one hour and 40 minutes, a longer eclipse would drain the battery beyond the safe limit," another official said. . . .

It had a great ride -- but as with all things. . . the go-cart racing, and the elliptical, twisty style track, itself. . . has come to an end, around Barsoom, for India. Onward -- smiling, just the same. . . .

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