NASA has announced three missions to the moon as part of efforts to establish a permanent base on the earth's natural satellite. The USD 20 billion plan includes lunar rovers and drones for experiments to help master skills to live and operate in the dangerous environment.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin experienced a major setback as its New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test at a launch pad in Florida, raising concerns about its ability to compete with SpaceX in the commercial space race.
ISRO on Friday released a set of visuals of the Moon captured by cameras positioned on the Lander Module of Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft.
The rover will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), ISRO said, "Chandrayaan-3 Mission. Chandrayaan-3 Rover to MOX, ISTRAC, Moon walk begins!"
Speaking to PTI, Somanath said, "(The lander landed) perfectly in the intended site. The landing location was marked as 4.5 km x 2.5 km -- I think on that space, and the exact centre of that was identified as the location of landing. It landed within 300 metres of that point. That means it is well within the area identified for landing."
According to the European Space Agency, the unmanned spacecraft -- Schiaparelli -- exploded on impact with the Martian surface after falling from as high as 13,000 ft (4,000 m).
It is unclear if this episode will affect or prevent the lunar lander -- which was slated to land near the moon's south pole as soon as Monday -- from attempting a touchdown.
'When you look at it from the point of view of science, Chandrayaan 2 is a big success.'
According to the space agency, Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment measured the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the south pole, to understand the thermal behaviour of the Moon's surface.
In a giant leap for its space programme, India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.
The spacecraft will now prepare for separation of the lander module -- comprising the lander and rover -- from the propulsion module.
The mission objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, to demonstrate rover roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday announced that its lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 will be launched on July 14 from the space port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
This eagerly anticipated event will be broadcast live on August 23, starting from 17:27 Hrs IST on multiple platforms, including the ISRO Website, its YouTube channel, ISRO's Facebook page, and DD National TV channel.
India will become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.
According to the Indian Situational Space Awareness Report for 2023, the nominal lift-off of the Launch Vehicle Mark-3, carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, had to be delayed by four seconds based on the Collision on Launch Avoidance analysis.
If any factor regarding the lander module appears unfavourable, then the landing will be shifted to August 27, said the Space Applications Centre-ISRO about Chandrayaan-3 on Monday.
The entire process being autonomous when the lander has to fire its engines at the right times and altitudes, use the right amount of fuel, and scan of the lunar surface for any obstacles or hills or craters before finally touching down.
Friday's mission is the fourth operational flight of LVM3 which aims to launch the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into a Geo Transfer Orbit.
A number of private companies have contributed to the development of ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft which successfully landed near the south pole of the Moon on Wednesday evening.
The lessons learned from the failure of Chandrayaan-2 contributed to the success of India's third lunar mission, former space scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Nambi Narayanan said, after the successful touchdown of the 'Vikram' lander on the lunar South Pole.
The ISRO chief further said that the ISRO is ready to fulfill the vision put forth by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An entire nation waited, praying and hoping fervently, as the countdown to touch down on the moon wound to a slow close on Wednesday with many thousands gathering in schools, places of worship and elsewhere and scientists doing last minute checks to ensure Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing on the lunar south pole.
Leading scientists and experts said this monumental accomplishment not only marks India's indelible imprint on lunar exploration but also demonstrates the prowess of human collaboration, determination, and cutting-edge technology.
A visibly emotional Modi addressed scientists at the Indian Space Research organisation's command centre in Bengaluru, who were involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission and lauded them for their efforts.
People gathered in educational institutions, offices, city squares and religious places to watch the Indian Space Research Organisation's live telecast of Chandrayaan-3's final descent to the uncharted surface of the lunar south pole.
The entire mission operations of Chandrayaan-3, right from the launch till landing, "happened flawlessly" as per the timeline, the team that led India's third mission to the Moon said on Wednesday.
From massed band's 'Shankhnaad' to Navy's lilting 'Mission Chandrayaan', mellifluous tunes reverberated across the Raisina Hill in the heart of Delhi as India's rich heritage and towering accomplishments were celebrated during the Beating Retreat ceremony on Monday.
Former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Official Mike Gold has said Chandrayaan-3's success is a triumph of Indian innovation, human capital and the capabilities that will take India even further.
The space strategist said that this shows that one should not take anything for granted in space exploration.
A photo of the prime minister hugging Indian Space Research Organisation chief K Sivan after a last-minute setback that led to the loss of lander Vikram, was also put on display for visitors.
Modi addressed scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation command centre in Bengaluru, who were involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission and lauded them for their efforts.
The new year will witness two unmanned missions under the "Gaganyaan" project, deep ocean exploration project, "Samudrayaan" and many more.
The actor said his earlier tweet was referring to an old joke from the era of Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969.
Amphibious drones for maritime inspection... devices that extract pure oxygen from water for patients in need... self-balancing electric bikes...
'You declare a date, time and place for the landing two months in advance and exactly at that moment, it touched on the moon.'
The successful launch of Aditya-L1 - the country's maiden mission to study the Sun - is expected to garner increased investor interest in the Indian space sector and trigger more funding for private players. Several private sector players, including Larsen & Toubro (L&T), MTAR Technologies, and Ananth Technologies, have played a pivotal role in the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro's) solar observatory mission. Aditya-L1 on Saturday set off on a 125-day journey on a PSLV-C57 rocket, in its attempt to study various elements relating to the nearest star from the halo orbit around Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from Earth.
While the actor did not specify the man in the cartoon, many social media users slammed the actor for making fun of former Indian Space Research Organisation chief K Sivan.
Enthused over its successful launch of GSLV D5 with GSAT-14 communication satellite from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Sunday, the Indian Space Research Organisation is planning a series of GSLV launches and an experimental launch of the advanced version GSLV Mark III soon from the spaceport.
