Tuesday / 26 March 2024

Posted on March 25, 2024 by LED Editor

Chandrayaan-3 Landing Site Now Officially Designated Statio Shiv Shakti by International Astronomical Union

IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature on 19 March declares area around Vikram lander between Manzinus C and Simpelius N craters (-69.37°, 32.32°) Statio Shiv Shakti (Shiva Shakti Station) after Hindu deities which symbolize masculine and feminine energies in recognition of 4th national soft-landing on Moon; Chandrayaan-1 probe impact site ‘Jawahar Point’ and Chandrayaan-2 crash site ‘Tiranga’ have also been submitted to IAU; Shiva and Shakti are also invoked by Max Planck Institute astronomers for metal-poor 12-13 billion year old stellar streams thought to be proto-galactic fragments observed by Gaia Space Observatory and Sloan Digital Sky Survey; Rubin crater between Amundsen and Demonax B crater (-82.82°, 77.65°) was also named on 19 March after the American astronomer Vera Rubin

Credits: Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, USGS, IAU

Tuesday / 2 May 2023

Posted on May 1, 2023 by LED Editor

Streak of Moon Lander Crashes Prompts Questioning

As ispace works to determine root cause of fueling-related M1 crash, observers are left to ponder why landing on Moon has eluded all efforts in 21st Century, save for CNSA CLEP sequence Chang’E 3-5; SpaceIL Beresheet (2019) IMU failure led to ill-timed reset command, cutting main engine; ISRO Chandrayaan-2 (2019) suffered software error with similar result; JAXA OMOTENASHI (2022) semi-hard impactor lost comms with Goldstone Deep Space Station; Generally, low gravity / atmosphere and dust are challenging factors; Budget for testing / fuel margin may also contribute to lunar landing difficulty

Credits: ispace, SpaceIL / IAI, ISRO, JAXA

Friday / 24 Feb 2023

Posted on February 23, 2023 by LED Editor

India Chandrayaan-3 Major Modules and Rover Advance Toward June-July Launch, Pass Key Tests

Aiming for ~110km east of Chandrayaan-2 attempted landing site, Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module, lander and 26-kg rover undergoing major evaluations at U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru for NET June launch to 70.83°S, 22.67°E; Passing Electro Magnetic Interference/ Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMI-EMC) tests early February for radio-frequency communication links between modules allows further subsystems & payload checks to continue; Mission will use Indian Deep Space Network for Earth comms and has agreements with NASA Deep Space Network & Estrack network as backups

Credits: ISRO, TAVD / URSC

Friday / 19 Mar 2021

Posted on March 18, 2021 by LED Editor

Moon Orbiter Missions Set To Deliver Valuable Science, Resource And Landing Site Surveying

India Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, Currently Maintaining 100 km Polar Path Around Moon, Is Now Expected To Continue Mission For Up To 7 Years Rather Than 1, Per Department Of Space Minister Jitendra Singh; Chandrayaan-2 Will Share Cislunar Space With: LRO, Now In Variable Fuel-Saving Elliptical Orbit And Approaching 12 Full Years Of Operations After Nominal 1-Year Exploration Mission; Chang’e-5T1 Service Module; ARTEMIS P1 / P2; Chang’e-4 Queqiao Relay Communications Craft At Earth-Moon L2; To Be Joined By Rocket Lab Capstone In Q3 2021

Pictured: Sarabhai Crater
Credits: ISRO, NASA

Friday / 7 Aug 2020

Posted on August 6, 2020 by LED Editor

India Chandrayaan-3 Progresses While LRO Gives Hope That Pragyan Rover Survived Crash

ISRO Chair K Sivan (R) States Agency Analyzing Data After Space Enthusiast Compares NASA LRO Chandrayaan-2 Images Taken Nov 2019 & Jan 2020 Finding Possibility That Pragyan Rover May Be Intact And Rolled Out After 6 Sep 2019 Impact Near 70°S; Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter With 8 Payloads Continues Operations & Will Contribute To ~US$86M Chandrayaan-3 Mission Launching Q2 2021; VSSC Director S Somanath Confirms Plans For Chandrayaan-4 And Beyond; Partnership With JAXA May Produce 2024 Lunar Polar Exploration Mission Of South Pole Lander + Rover

Credits: NASA, LRO, ISRO, Shanmuga Subramanian via Twitter

Friday / 24 July 2020

Posted on July 23, 2020 by LED Editor

ISRO Releasing Chandrayaan-2 Data Globally In October, Preparing Chandrayaan-3 For 2021 Launch

Chand-2 Orbiter 8 Payloads Performing Nominally In 100-km Lunar Polar Orbit, Now >1 Year Into Mission As Of 22 July; ISRO Planning To Share Internationally: Highest-Res 3D Moon Map, Science Data Sets On Surface Water-Ice And Minerals / Metals, Argon-40, Exosphere, Solar X-rays; ISRO Chair K. Sivan States Chand-2 Mission “Has Achieved 98% Of Its Objectives”; Chand-3 Lander + Rover Estimated Cost ~US$91.2M, Will Utilize Chand-2 Orbiter, Launch To Moon South Pole Region 1st Half 2021

Credits: ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 14-17 Feb 2020

Posted on February 13, 2020 by LED Editor

New Race To Moon South Pole – Malapert Mountain

Multiple Nations And Commercial Enterprises Aiming For Lunar South Polar Region; Following CNSA Chang’e-5 Sample Return In 2020, Chang’e-6 And Chang’e-7 Will Explore South Pole; ISRO Chandrayaan-3, -4 and -5 Will Continue Polar Landing Goal Of Chandrayaan-2; SpaceX Promises Lunar Landings By 2022; NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services May Carry Payloads Such As The International Lunar Observatory ILO-1 For Galaxy Imaging And Broadcasting From Malapert Mountain, One Of The Most Important And Valuable Sites In Solar System

Credits: NASA, CNSA, ISRO, SpaceX, ILOA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 10-13 Jan 2020

Posted on January 10, 2020 by LED Editor

International Moon Landings 2020-2021 Begin Lunar Decade

Multiple Nations And Commercial Enterprises Prepare For Landings In First Years Of Lunar Decade; India Proceeding At Full Speed With Chandrayaan-3 (BR) For November 2020; China (Zhongguo) Plans Chang’e-5 (TR) NLT Dec 2020; NASA Commercial Lunar Services Providers Astrobotic And Intuitive Machines (L) Both Plan Landings NET July 2021; Chang’e-6 And Chang’e-7 Planned For Near Future; Chandrayaan-4 May Follow In Cooperation With JAXA, And Possibly Chandrayaan-5; SpaceX And Blue Origin (C) Also Plan To Land Payloads In Early 2020s

Credits: NASA, Blue Origin, CNSA, ISRO

Friday / 20 December 2019

Posted on December 19, 2019 by LED Editor

Chandrayaan-3 Planning Rush To Lunar Surface In 2020

Indian Space Research Organization Planning Chandrayaan-3 At Full Speed For November 2020 Launch; Mission Will Include Propulsion Module, Lander And Rover; 682-Kg Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Is Successfully Operating In Lunar Polar Orbit; Orbiter High Resolution Camera And Onboard Terrain Mapping Camera-2 Will Be Part Of Chandrayaan-3 Mission, Which Will Likely Land In South Pole Region; India Partnering With Japan On Joint Lunar Polar Exploration Mission, Which Could Become Chandrayaan-4