Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #2
Chang’e 5 to return Moon samples, SLS progressing, ESA plans lunar habitats, new science maps, and more developments in the lunar space.
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Articles
India’s Shukrayaan orbiter to study Venus for over four years, launches in 2024
Shukrayaan will be the first mission to map Venus’ subsurface.
Moon Monday
Moon Monday Issue #1
The Moon may have formed in a hurry, NASA plans more robotic lunar missions, and other happenings in the lunar space.
Links
Some Neptune tidbits
Here are some more interesting bits I came across when I wrote an article on Neptune. * The European Space Agency is investigating two ways to explore the ice giants. One is a Uranus orbiter, which will be solar-powered, and not nuclear—a bold move. And the other is contributing to
Talks
Presentation: Why aren’t we living on the Moon already?
This is a tightened version of the talk I gave for Chai and Why, a series of popular science talks organized by Arnab Bhattacharya, a scientist and a science communicator based out of India. Talk Description: It’s been 50 years since humans landed on the Moon, so why haven’
Articles
Why explore Neptune
This azure ice giant challenges our understanding of how planets form and offers a potentially habitable moon.
Articles
What SOFIA’s discovery of water on the Moon is, and isn’t
NASA and the Germany space agency’s airborne SOFIA telescope has detected water on the Moon’s surface. There are many misconceptions floating around this discovery so I’d like to clarify the nature of the findings and what it means for lunar science and exploration. Different from Chandrayaan 1
Links
Extra tidbits on Japan’s MMX mission
Here are some more interesting bits I didn’t get to cover in my article on Japan's MMX mission, which will collect samples from Mars’ moon Phobos. * Slowing down from orbital speeds to a touch down under Phobos’ weak gravity is going to be incredibly challenging. Among other
Articles
Japan wants to sample Mars’ moon Phobos with its MMX mission
This is the first time the martian moons will be fully mapped, and samples brought to Earth from the martian system.
Articles
Debate: Mangalyaan’s low science output still reflects on ISRO
Only part of the missing science from ISRO’s highly held Mars mission may be due to inadequacy of academic institutions in India.
Articles
The giant leap for humanity was not stepping on the Moon but getting to Earth orbit
The launch of Sputnik in 1957 marked not just the advent of the Space Age but had an even deeper significance.
Talks
Podcast appearance on NewSpace India: Outcomes of India’s Mars orbiter
In this podcast episode for NewSpace India, I talk about the scope of space science missions in India and how they can be broadened in the future. We deeply discuss India’s first Mars mission Mangalyaan, missing science from it, and potential lessons for the future.