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India aims for the Moon with launch of Chandrayaan 3
The ambitious mission comes as India signs the US-led Artemis Accords to shape future global lunar activities.
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By Jatan Mehta | Dives into lunar exploration, space technology, Indian space, planetary science, and more.
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Europe launches the JUICE spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s icy moons in unprecedented detail
Iconic missions to the outer Solar System such as Voyager 1 & 2, Galileo, and Cassini gave us a close look at the largest moons of giant planets. Once thought of as inactive, cold conglomerates of ice and rock, we now know these distant moons are planet-like worlds with rich
Indian Space
How ISRO continues to build its own spaceplane
An uncrewed, autonomous spaceplane prototype developed by ISRO successfully landed on a runway at Chitradurga, India on April 2. The winged vehicle, officially called the Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), was heli-dropped from a height of 4.5 kilometers such that its descent simulates an approach from space. The
US Artemis
On NASA’s announcement of the Artemis III Science Lead and more
NASA’s Artemis Town Hall briefing at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) on March 15 announced Dr. Noah Petro as the Science Lead for Artemis III. The historic mission aims to land humans back on the Moon by mid-decade. Petro is currently the project scientist for NASA’
Indian Space
What we know about India’s Chandrayaan 3 Moon landing mission
July 20, 2023 update: This post is now old, and kept online for archival purposes. Please read my new and more detailed article on Chandrayaan 3 instead. After India’s Chandrayaan 2 lander unfortunately failed to land on the Moon in 2019 during its final mission phase, the Indian Space
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KPLO, South Korea’s first Moon mission
The lunar orbiter launched South Korea’s deep space ambitions.
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Kids in South Korea and a Moon mission
South Korea is about to have its Chandrayaan 1 moment.
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ispace Japan’s lander launches for the Moon, carrying UAE’s rover and hopes for its future lunar ambitions
Edit on May 29, 2023: The lander failed to touchdown. :( Today, December 11, private Japanese company ispace inc. launched its first ever Moon mission M1 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. ispace’s robotic “Hakuto-R” spacecraft is now on a low-energy, fuel-efficient trajectory to the Moon, after four months of
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Past mistakes to avoid in our grand return to the Moon this decade
The last two decades mark the beginning of a true return to exploring our Moon. The 2000s saw Europe, Japan, China and India launch their successful lunar orbiters SMART-1, SELENE, Chang’e 1 and Chandrayaan 1 respectively. The 2010s can be defined by roller coaster Moon landing attempts, with China
US Artemis
The bevy of rovers heading for the Moon
A look at all the big and small mobile robots that will explore the lunar surface over the next five years.
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The time NASA figured out that our Moon is cratered all the way down
And a parallel to what we’re building now as we return to the Moon.
Indian Space
Reviewing Mangalyaan, India’s first Mars mission
Despite falling short on scientific promises, the orbiter boosted India’s fledgling planetary program.
