An Indian's Contributions to NASA Missions

SHORT FEATURE An Indian’s Contributions to NASA Missions Biman Basu

ANY of us are familiar with NASA’s Juno, MAVEN, OSIRIS-Rex and InSight missions and their unique Machievements in exploration of Mars and the near- Earth asteroid Bennu. But not many may be aware of the key contribution of a US-based Indian engineer in designing three key components for the three missions — conical corrugated microwave horn antennas, polariser and a diplexer for microwave communication. He is Protap Pramanick, senior scientist at the Microwave Engineering Corporation, North Dr Protap Pramanick Andover, Massachusetts, USA, who holds several patents on filters for cellular radio. Juno is a NASA space probe orbiting the planet Jupiter. MEC Horn It was built by Lockheed Martin. Juno’s mission is to measure Antenna Jupiter’s composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. Juno carries conical corrugated microwave horn antenna and polarisers that are used to receive and transmit Sir J.C. Bose’s Horn Antennas 1898 microwave signals by the spacecraft. The design of those antennas and polarisers were specially simulated and optimised by Pramanick. The first polariser designed by Pramanick is flying in NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since July 2016. ) (Credit: www.dw.com Horn antenna designed by Pramanick and others on OSIRIS-REx NASA’s Juno spacecraft (Top right) and Horn antennas used by Sir J.C. Bose (Inset) has been orbiting Jupiter since July 2016 an ‘Asteroid Sample Return Mission’, and is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program. Launched on 8 September 2016, the spacecraft reached the proximity of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu on 3 December 2018, where it began analysing its (Credit: NASA) surface for a target sample area over the next several months. Artist’s rendering, from Soon after arriving at Bennu, OSIRIS REx found water within NASA, of the MAVEN the clays on the asteroid. Two spectrometers on the spacecraft spacecraft in its in-flight discovered hydroxyls or molecules of oxygen and hydrogen configuration (Credit: en.wikipedia.org) atoms bonded together. The mission scientists believe that these hydroxyls exist across the asteroid, locked in clay minerals. MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) was The spacecraft is scheduled to return a 60-gm sample from the launched aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle at the beginning asteroid to Earth in 2023. of the first launch window on 18 November 2013. On 22 InSight, short for September 2014, MAVEN reached Mars and was inserted into Interior exploration using an areocentric (Mars-centred) 6,200 km×150 km elliptical Seismic Investigations, orbit above the planet’s surface. MAVEN is designed to study G eodesy and H eat the Martian atmosphere while orbiting Mars. Mission goals Transport, is a Mars lander include determining how the planet’s atmosphere and water, InSight lander on Mars designed to give the Red (Credit: jpl.nasa.gov) presumed to have once been substantial, were lost over time. Planet its “first thorough OSIRIS-Rex, short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, check-up since it formed some 4.5 billion years ago”. It is the Resource Identification, and Security‒RegolithExplorer, is first outer space robotic explorer to drill through and study

September 2019 | Science Reporter | 27 in-depth the “inner space” of Mars — its crust, mantle, and core. According to NASA, studying the interior structure of Mars could answer key questions about the early formation of An illustration of NASA’s rocky planets in our inner solar system — Mercury, Venus, Lucy spacecraft to Earth, and Mars — more than 4 billion years ago, as well as be launched in 2021 rocky exoplanets discovered in the past couple of decades. to explore the Trojan InSight would also measure tectonic activity and meteorite asteroids impacts on Mars today. This mission is part of NASA’s Discovery Program, which is a series of lower-cost, highly focussed scientific space missions aimed at exploring the solar system. Launched on 5 May 2018, InSight landed at Elysium her discoverers) whose skeleton provided unique insight into Planitia on Mars on 26 November 2018. humanity’s evolution. Likewise, the Lucy mission is expected InSight is the largest of the robotic landers sent to Mars to revolutionise our knowledge of planetary origins and the by NASA and landing it safely was a challenge. For example, formation of the solar system. After the launch in October entering the Martian atmosphere during descent and landing 2021, the spacecraft will use Earth’s gravity boost to complete was the toughest one. It landed on Martian equator at a very a 12-year journey to seven different asteroids — a Main Belt acute angle with respect to the Martian orbit. asteroid and six Trojans. According to NASA, InSight will play the role of a A 1977 BTech from IIT, Kharagpur, and PhD from IIT, geologist. That is why it is called “The Geologist Robot”. Kanpur, India, Pramanick joined the Department of Electrical This is the first time NASA, Caltech, Oxford University and Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1982 as many other research organisations throughout the world, will a postdoctoral fellow. In 1984 he joined the Canadian Marconi probe the interior of the Red planet and gather information on Company, Kanata, Ontario, as a senior design specialist in the planet’s core and study the nature of Marsquakes. Also, the Avionics Department. From July 1992 to 2000 he was an the information will let us know about many unknown aspects Associate Professor in Department of Electrical Engineering, of our planet Earth. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. During that Both InSight and OSIRIS-Rex carry a component period, he was the CEO of Polar Waves Consulting (PWC), called ‘frequency channel diplexer’, which is essential for which provided services to Motorola, Ericsson and many other communication with the two spacecraft. Basically, a diplexer world-renowned microwave companies. takes two signals in and makes one out. From 2000 June to 2005 he was a senior scientist at K&L Pramanick says, “In any such mission, the microwave Microwave Inc. in Salisbury, Maryland, USA. During that radio link is the most important part. And in any such link, period, he was also an adjunct Professor at Hansen School of the antenna, the electric field polarisers and the transmit/ Engineering, Salisbury State University, Salisbury, MD. Prior receive channel separating filter/diplexer are indispensable to joining Microwave Engineering Corporation in 2009, he had components. Designing those components was quite a challenge worked for M2Global Inc. in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2009 for us. I had designed similar antennae and polarisers for the he has been working for Microwave Engineering Corporation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the past. But this diplexer is an North Andover, MA, as a senior scientist. He has authored invention. The main challenge was handling Mars’ gravity and and co-authored many publications in the area of microwave atmosphere. This is the most challenging design I have done integrated circuits. in my life so far.” Before concluding, it may be mentioned here that the Pramanick with his colleagues worked together to enhance Juno, Maven and ORISIS-REx projects have some historical the power handling capability and manufacturability of the significance with respect to microwave physics and technology diplexer. They did this work for Lockheed Martin Space System research in India. It was Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose who and NASA. Microwave Engineering Corporation (MEC), invented the microwave horn antenna in Kolkata in 1898. which Pramanick joined in 2009, was awarded this project in He also used electric field polarisers by constructing them in 2016. In addition to the diplexer, OSIRIS-Rex carries conical various innovative ways. corrugated microwave horn antennas and a polariser designed Today, one hundred and twenty years later, microwave by Pramanick. horn antennas and polarisers carrying the signature of an IITian “At present, I am gearing up for NASA’s first space project from India are at work on NASA’s three historic spacecrafts Lucy to six of the Trojan asteroids, scheduled for 2021,” says for the first time in history! Also, a new microwave diplexer, Pramanick. He says the diplexer, the horn and the polariser carrying his signature, landed on another planet and is orbiting will also fly in spacecraft Lucy. the Bennu asteroid for the first time in history. Lucy will be the first space mission to study the Trojans, which are asteroids belonging to one of two groups which orbit Mr Biman Basu, Author, Science Communicator and Consultant the Sun at the same distance as Jupiter, at the Lagrangian points and former Editor of Science Reporter. Address: C-203, Hindon roughly 60 degrees ahead of it and behind it. The mission takes Apartments, 25 Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi-110096. Email: its name from the fossilised human ancestor (called “Lucy” by [email protected]

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