India and Russia's very different (so far) moon missions
Russia's Luna-25 crashed into the moon last night.
Russia's unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft has crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control, officials say.
It was Russia's first Moon mission in almost 50 years.
The craft was due to be the first ever to land on the Moon's south pole, but failed after encountering problems as it moved into its pre-landing orbit.
Meanwhile, India's Chandrayaan-3 completed it's final lunar orbit.
Vikram, which carries a rover in its belly, is due to land near the south pole on 23 August.
The lander detached from the propulsion module, which carried it close to the Moon, on Thursday.
The black-and-white images show close-ups of rocks and craters on the Moon's surface. One of the photographs shows the propulsion module too.
If successful, India will be the fourth country to achieve a moon landing with USA, USSR and China.
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Indian Space Mission Enters Moon's Orbit
A fantastic accomplishment, especially when you consider the cost for the mission was less than $75 million!
Experts say India can keep costs low by copying and adapting existing space technology, and thanks to an abundance of highly skilled engineers who earn a fraction of their foreign counterparts’ wages.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has taken much longer to reach the moon than the manned Apollo missions of the 1960s and 1970s, which arrived in a matter of days.
The Indian rocket used is much less powerful than the United States’ Saturn V and instead the probe orbited Earth five or six times elliptically to gain speed, before being sent on a month-long lunar trajectory.
If the landing is successful the rover will roll off Vikram and explore the nearby lunar area, gathering images to be sent back to Earth for analysis.
The rover has a mission life of one lunar day or 14 Earth days.
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A good breakdown of NASA's Artemis program
NASA's new moon program is poised to smash all kinds of records for human spaceflight. Named for the Greek goddess Artemis, Apollo's twin sister, this initiative will put the first woman and first person of color on the moon. If all goes as scheduled, in 2025, these astronauts will become the first humans to step on the lunar regolith—or dusty moon soil—since Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt walked there in December 1972.
In addition, the Artemis program will establish the first long-term human presence on the moon, by putting a space station in orbit and constructing a base camp on the lunar surface. These measures will lay the groundwork for yet another first in the future: sending astronauts to Mars.
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Thread about a moon rock in the Whitehouse
At least, that's where it starts, and it goes on to reveal the geological mysteries of the moon and how much there is still left for us to learn in the universe. Sometimes it can feel like we know everything there is to know and that there are no mysteries remaining, and that simply is not true. This thread highlights a number of them about the moon, our moon.
Our moon is large compared to our planet, and we have no idea how it formed. There are theories but we have no idea if they are right. Fascinating stuff.
Definitely read the full thread.
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