23, August 2023
India becomes first nation to land spacecraft on Moon’s south pole 0
India on Wednesday made history when its Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully touched down on the Moon’s south pole, thought to be a potential source for water and oxygen, days after Russia’s mission failed.
The Indian space agency launched the rocket on July 14, blasting off from the country’s main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Moon landing is a historic moment for the world’s most populous nation, as it rapidly closes in on milestones set by global space powers.
Chandrayaan-3, which means “Mooncraft” in Sanskrit, touched down shortly after 6pm India time (1230 GMT) near the little-explored lunar south pole.
A previous Indian effort failed in 2019, and today’s success comes just days after Russia’s first Moon mission in almost 50 years, destined for the same region, crashed on the lunar surface.
K. Sivan, the former head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said it had made corrections after the failure of four years ago, when scientists lost contact with the previous lunar module moments before its slated landing.
“Chandrayaan-3 is going to go with more ruggedness,” he said prior to the successful landing. “We have confidence, and we expect that everything will go smoothly.”
The mission was launched nearly six weeks ago in front of thousands of cheering spectators, but took much longer to reach the Moon than those of the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s, which arrived in a matter of days.
India is using rockets much less powerful than those the United States used back then, meaning the probe needed to orbit Earth several times to gain speed before embarking on its month-long lunar trajectory.
The spacecraft’s lander, Vikram, which means “valour” in Sanskrit, detached from its propulsion module last week and has been sending back images of the moon’s surface since entering lunar orbit on August 5.
A day ahead of the landing, the ISRO said on social media the landing was proceeding on schedule and that its mission control complex was “buzzed with energy and excitement”.
“Smooth sailing is continuing,” the agency posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
India has a comparatively low-budget aerospace programme, but one that has grown considerably in size and momentum since it first sent a probe to orbit the Moon in 2008.
The latest mission comes with a price tag of $74.6 million – far lower than those of other countries, and a testament to India’s frugal space engineering.
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.
In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to put a satellite into orbit around Mars and is slated to launch a three-day manned mission into Earth’s orbit by next year.
‘Very, very important’
Sivan, the former ISRO chief, said India’s efforts to explore the relatively unmapped lunar south pole would make a “very, very important” contribution to scientific knowledge.
Only Russia, the United States and China have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface.
If successful, it would have beaten Chandrayaan-3 by a matter of days to become the first mission of any nation to make a controlled landing around the lunar south pole.
But the Luna-25 probe crash-landed on Saturday after an unspecified incident as it was preparing for descent.
Punishing sanctions since the outset of the war in Ukraine have affected Russia’s space industry, which has also been beleaguered by corruption and a lack of innovation and partnerships.
Source: Reuters
6, December 2023
Iran sends into space biological capsule aboard indigenous launcher 0
Iran has successfully put into orbit its newest bio-space capsule with the domestically-built Salman launcher.
The 500-kilogram capsule, developed by the Aerospace Research Institute of Iran, affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, was launched to an altitude of 130 kilometers from the Earth’s surface on Wednesday.
The launch is a step to send humans into space in line with the Iranian government’s plan to revive various sectors of the space industry and consolidate bio-space knowledge.
It was a test for space technologies in the areas of launch, recovery and speed control systems, as well as impact shields, capsule aerodynamic design, and the systems related to control and monitoring of biological conditions.
Salman launcher is manufactured by the Aerospace Industries Organization, a subsidiary of the Iranian Defense Ministry. It is capable of launching bio-capsules weighing 500 kilograms.
Spokesman for the Aerospace Research Institute said the 13th government of the Islamic Republic has practically revived the bio-space.
Hossein Dalirian said several bio-capsules systems were tested for the first time, and that the launcher, which was the first version, “performed very well” its the first launch.
He said Salman launcher achieved great success in its first try and carried the 500-kilogram capsule in very good condition.
“This capsule is the result of relying on domestic power and the efforts of space industry experts in the Ministry of Defense.”
Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has managed to take giant strides in its civilian space program.
Iran sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into space in February 2010, using a Kavoshgar (Explorer) carrier.
Speaking to Fars news agency, Iran’s telecoms minister Issa Zarepour said Tehran will soon conduct suborbital tests of the new generation of bio-capsules, hoping that they will bring the country closer to its space goals.
The capsule launched on Wednesday “is about half a ton and has the ability to carry a human, but its suborbital tests are underway,” he added.
“It should be taken into account that we are still 5 to 6 years away from reaching the point where we can send humans into space.”
Zarepour also noted that the Islamic Republic is trying to revitalize works in the field of launching biological capsules after a 10-year closure.
Iran is among the top 10 countries leading the space industry and among the 7 leading the bio-space.
Source: Presstv