Moon Monday
Mission updates * CNSA announced on September 29 that China will indeed launch the Chang’e 6 farside sample return spacecraft and its supporting orbiter next year. * Following two maneuvers last month to raise the SLIM lunar lander’s Earthbound orbit, JAXA fired the spacecraft’s engines on October 1 to
Articles
The New York Times recently highlighted some emerging Indian space startups with an online & print article. It was not only widely read—seeing that it’s published by one of the world’s most-consumed publications—but also widely shared by the startups mentioned in the piece and related folks
CLPS
NASA CLPS lunar mission updates from LEAG Below are some notable updates from the sessions I could attend (virtually) at the annual meeting of the NASA-backed Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) this September 20–22. CLPS manager Chris Culbert gave a forthright presentation on how the agency’s program to
CLPS
Lunar Starship engines ignite As SpaceX preps for the second test flight of its fully reusable Starship Super Heavy rocket, following April’s dramatic first flight, the company has meanwhile revealed that it performed a vacuum-optimized Raptor engine test fire last month. This firing demonstrates that its Lunar Starship engines
Chandrayaan
On August 23 at 12:33 UTC, India’s Chandrayaan 3 robotic lander touched down on the Moon near its south pole at 69.37°S, 32.32°E. The triumphant touchdown made India only the fourth country to achieve the feat of a soft lunar landing, following the former
Japan and Selene
Japan launches the SLIM lunar lander with an unprecedented aim On September 7, Japan launched the 2012-proposed SLIM lander to the Moon. Shortly after separating from the upper stage of its H-IIA launch vehicle in Earth orbit, SLIM completed sun acquisition control and JAXA reported its health to be normal.
Chandrayaan
And more space updates from the country.
Chandrayaan
Today, September 4, ISRO set the Chandrayaan 3 Moon lander Vikram in sleep mode around 3:30 UTC. This was shortly after sending commands to turn off its three active instruments: the thermal probe, the seismometer, and the plasma experiment. Likewise, a fully charged Pragyan rover, which has traversed 100
Chandrayaan
So Nature quoted and linked to my Moon Monday newsletter in an Editorial on the success of ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 Moon landing! :') An overview and specifics of Chandrayaan 3’s historic touchdown on our Moon On August 23 at 12:33 UTC, ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 robotic lander
Moon Monday
Today I got my media registration approval to be at ISRO’s ISTRAC mission operations center in Bengaluru for the Chandrayaan 3 landing attempt this August 23! :D 🚀 🌗 <proceeds to publish this Moon Monday edition loaded with lunar updates, and then hurry up to pack my bag for tomorrow’
Chandrayaan
At long last, Luna 25 launches for the Moon On August 11, a Russian Soyuz 2.1b rocket successfully launched the 1750-kilogram Luna 25 Moon lander, almost 47 years after the former Soviet Union returned lunar samples with Luna 24. The 3.2-meter tall Luna-25 spacecraft separated from Soyuz’s
Indian Space
I’m honored that this Indian Space Progress monthly report series is now highlighted as a resource on the website of Spaceport SARABHAI, India’s first space think tank founded by an inspiring team of multidisciplinary experts many of whom I admire and have learnt from. 🚀 Chandrayaan 3’s journey
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