Indian Moon mission is go for 22 October 2008

[Rick]

India is all set to launch its first unmanned Moon mission on 22 October - the Chandrayaan-1 probe, which will over two years survey our satellite's surface with a rack of hi-res kit.

According to the BBC, the launch had been planned for April, but was knocked back due to "technical problems". The $83m mission involves input from six other countries, including the US. The European Space Agency has contributed three instruments to the total of 11 science payloads on board.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/07/india_moon_probe/

[Rick]

India is counting down to the launch of its first mission to the Moon.

On Wednesday, the unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft will blast off from a launch pad in Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7679818.stm

[Rick]

India has successfully launched its first mission to the Moon.

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7679818.stm

[Rick]

India's Moon probe Chandrayaan-1 this morning successfully launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the Indian Space Research Organisation reports.

The $83m mission, carrying a multinational array of kit, was carried aloft atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle at 06:22 Indian Standard Time (00:52 GMT).

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/22/chandrayaan_launch/

[Rick]

Indian newspapers have hailed the successful launching of the country's first mission to the Moon on Wednesday.

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern India to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7685702.stm

[Rick]

India's Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft has sent back its first images.

The probe was launched on 22 October to embark on a two-year mission of exploration at the Moon.

Ground controllers in Bangalore instructed the probe to take pictures with its Terrain Mapping Camera as the spacecraft made a pass of the Earth.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7707099.stm

[Rick]

India's Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft has moved itself into a position ready to enter into orbit around the Moon.

Since its launch on 22 October, the satellite has been gradually extending its distance from Earth.

The latest engine firing put the probe on a looping trajectory that sweeps out to some 380,000km from home.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7709139.stm

[Rick]

India is celebrating the arrival of its Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft at the Moon.

An 817-second burn from the probe's engine on Saturday slowed Chandrayaan sufficiently for it to be captured by the lunar body's gravity.

The craft is now in an 11-hour polar ellipse that goes out to 7,502km from the Moon and comes as close as 504km.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7718015.stm

[Rick]

India has become the fourth nation to join the stuff-on-the-Moon club, after the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in lunar orbit successfully launched an impact probe at the lunar surface this afternoon. The 35-kg impactor was blazoned with the Indian flag.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/14/indian_moon_landing/

[Rick]

India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft, Chandrayaan 1, has placed a probe on the surface of the Moon.

The probe, painted with the Indian flag, touched down at 2034 (1504 GMT), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.

It will perform various experiments, including measuring the composition of the Moon's atmosphere.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7730157.stm

(Who writes this stuff?     )

[Rick]

Indian scientists are exploring various options to cool down a sudden surge of temperature inside the country's first unmanned lunar craft, Chandrayaan 1.

The temperature inside the satellite has gone over 50C, prompting scientists to take drastic measures.

They say that the problem arose because of very hot temperatures during the lunar orbit.

The mission is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7748611.stm

[Rick]

A NASA radar instrument aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 Moon orbiter has sent back the first ever images of hidden crater interiors at the lunar poles. Space boffins hope to use such pictures to discover deposits of water ice, which could be invaluable for future Moonbase astronauts.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/19/nasa_chandrayaan_1_radar_crater_images/

[Rick]

India's first mission to the Moon has experienced a technical problem, India's space research officials say.

A sensor of the unmanned Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft has "malfunctioned" and steps have been taken to ensure it is able to continue its work, they say.

But the possibility remains that the mission may have to be cut short.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8155120.stm

[Rick]

All communication links with the only Indian satellite orbiting the Moon have been lost, India's space agency says.

Radio contact with the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was lost abruptly early on Saturday, said India's Bangalore-based Space Research Organization (Isro).

The unmanned craft was launched last October in what was billed as a two-year mission of exploration.

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8228371.stm

[Rick]

New NASA Radar Technique Finds Lost Lunar Spacecraft

Finding derelict spacecraft and space debris in Earth's orbit can be a technological challenge. Detecting these objects in orbit around Earth's moon is even more difficult. Optical telescopes are unable to search for small objects hidden in the bright glare of the moon. However, a new technological application of interplanetary radar pioneered by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has successfully located spacecraft orbiting the moon -- one active, and one dormant. This new technique could assist planners of future moon missions.

"We have been able to detect NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter [LRO] and the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in lunar orbit with ground-based radar," said Marina Brozovic, a radar scientist at JPL and principal investigator for the test project. "Finding LRO was relatively easy, as we were working with the mission's navigators and had precise orbit data where it was located. Finding India's Chandrayaan-1 required a bit more detective work because the last contact with the spacecraft was in August of 2009."

More: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6769