Category Archives: India

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 17-20 March 2023

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China Plans for Lunar Station Science, India Advancing Chandrayaan-3 Landing, UK Developing Nuclear Reactor

Earth Observation, stellar formation and origin of Moon are science focus areas for ILRS per Zou Yongliao of CAS; Lunar agriculture and ISRU also to be prominent in upcoming phase 4 CLEP missions Chang’E 6-8 (NET 2024, 2026, 2028); ISRO on track for late June / early July launch of Chandrayaan-3 following successful vibration / acoustic and electromagnetic testing; UK Space Agency to provide an additional US$3.53M to Rolls-Royce-led micro-reactor project supported by Sheffield, Oxford, Brighton, Bangor universities with goal of deployment on Moon circa 2029

Credits: CNSA, CAS, ISRO, Rolls-Royce

Friday / 24 Feb 2023

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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

Tuesday / 14 Feb 2023

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ISRO Preparing Host of Advanced Science Payloads for Chandrayaan-3 Lander, Rover and Propulsion Modules

Launching NET June, Chandrayaan-3 is targeting a 4 x 2.4-km site between Manzinus N and Manzinus U craters (69.37°S, 32.35°E), ~109km east of planned landing site of Chandrayaan-2 (2019); 1,726-kg lander will carry 7 science instruments including Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) and 9 sensors; 26-kg rover outfitted with Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) and Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS); 2,148-kg Propulsion Module will host Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) at 100-km polar orbit; Surface operations to be conducted over 1-lunar day / ~14 Earth days

Credits: ISRO, CNSA, NASA

Friday / 3 Feb 2023

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India and USA Advance Cooperation on Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), Human Spaceflight, Space Science

Several areas of space collaboration between nations to be nurtured following first meeting of U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in Washington DC: CLPS providers to meet with India commercial space companies to identify partnership opportunities; Astronaut exchange will see an ISRO astronaut undergoing training at JSC; Purview of Professional Engineer & Scientist Exchange Program to include space science; U.S. Commerce and India Space departments to lead commercial working group; iCET to solidify details at next meeting in New Delhi within 2023

Pictured: USA National Security Advisor Jacob Sullivan, India National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister Ajay Kumar Sood, ISRO Chairman S Somanath; Credits: @IndianEmbassyUS via Twitter

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 20-23 Jan 2023

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2 Newly Arrived Moon Orbiters May Be Joined by at Least Half-Dozen Landers in Coming Months

As NASA / Advanced Space Capstone continues pathfinder mission of NRHO (so far finding Δv orbital maintenance requirements to be substantially less than expected) and KPLO Danuri prepares to begin science operations in Feb, ispace Hakuto-R lander should start return towards cislunar space after having reached furthest point in nearly 5-month fuel-efficient trajectory (1,400,000 km); Astrobotic PM-1 (with Project Kuiper and Celestis) and Intuitive Machines IM-1 (with DOGE-1) to follow NET Q1 2023, JAXA SLIM (with XRISM) NET April, ISRO Chandrayaan-3 NET June, Roscosmos Luna-25 NET July

Credits: JAXA, ISRO, Roscosmos

 

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 14-17 Oct 2022

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2023 Lunar Missions on the Horizon as Artemis 1 Flyby and M1 Lander Preparing for Launches

NASA and ispace poised for 2022 Moon flyby / robotic landing, while several missions now targeting 2023; Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, ISRO, JAXA to launch Peregrine, Nova-C and Chandrayaan-3, SLIM landers NET Q1; Roscosmos plans Luna-25 launch via Soyuz-2.1b NET Q3; Also within 2023 Intuitive Machines striving to launch IM-2 mission including first satellite of lunar data relay ‘Khonstellation’, μNova hopper, SHERPA-ES tug, Orbit Fab Tanker-002 in-space fuel depot; Rocket Factory Augsburg to begin deployment of Harmony cislunar constellation; SpaceX to take Yusaku Maezawa and 8 selected crew, 1-2 professional astronauts on dearMoon lunar flyby with Starship

Credits: ISRO, SpaceX, RFA, dearMoon

Tuesday / 20 Sep 2022

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Moon South Pole is Target for Increasing Number of International Robotic and Human Missions 2023-28

CLPS provider Intuitive Machines to redirect IM-1 mission NET Q1 2023 from mid-latitude to MSP at NASA request, IM-2 already slated for Shackleton Connecting Ridge (89.5°S); ISRO Chandrayaan-3 targeting 71°S NET Feb 2023; Roscosmos Luna-25 aiming for 70°S NET 2023; Astrobotic to deliver VIPER rover to 85°S NET Nov 2024; CNSA Chang’E-7 to land near (L-R) Shackleton (90°S), Nobile (85°S) or Haworth (87°S) craters NET 2026; Artemis 3 to target 1 of 13 regions within 6° of MSP via SpaceX HLS; 6.25-day Polar Sortie Mission and 33-day Polar Excursion Mission on 2nd HLS to be awarded May 2023, launch NET 2028

Credits: NASA, IM

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 9-12 Sep 2022

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2022/3 Moon Missions Approach as Capstone & Danuri Near Lunar Orbit, Artemis Team Working to Launch

NASA Capstone on route to 3,000 x 70,000-km near rectilinear halo orbit 13 Nov; Danuri not far behind on similar low-energy ballistic lunar transfer, to reach orbital insertion 16 Dec; Artemis 1 may launch 23 or 27 Sep if LH2 leak is remedied on launchpad, JAXA 6U Omotenashi semi-hard impactor is 1 of 10 CubeSat rideshares; ispace Nov launch of Hakuto-R / Rashid rover, also to 3-month low-energy trajectory, landing in equatorial Lacus Somniorum; Astrobotic Peregrine lander slated to launch before EOY; Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander striving for NET Jan 2023 launch; ISRO Chandrayaan 3 targeting Q1 2023; Roscosmos Luna-25 pushed to NET 2023; JAXA SLIM slated for NET March 2023

Credits: NASA, KARI, Advanced Space

Friday / 1 July 2022

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China and India Working on Spacecraft Technology for Crewed and Automated Moon Exploration

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) prototyping new hydrolox rocket engine for lunar version of ‘New-Generation Manned Launch Vehicle’ / Long March 5DY, with component check, fault detection and ignition tests achieved; Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) advancing Chandrayaan-3 redesign, improving lander legs, sensors and propulsion system, with ongoing testing at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri; China aiming for human Moon landings within 2020’s decade, India 2nd robotic landing attempt likely to occur NET 2023

Credits: CNSA, ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 29 April – 2 May 2022

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ISRO Proceeding Carefully with Chandrayaan-3 Moon Landing, Plans International LUPEX Mission

Chandrayaan-3 flight hardware on display in new documentary Space on Wheels, also featuring 74 other domestic spacecraft; Vessel currently undergoing analysis of propulsion and other systems in Mahendragiri; Officially set for August launch, ISRO Chair S Somanath tells TOI “The list of tests is long and we do not want to compromise on anything. It is unlikely that we launch Chandrayaan-3 this year”; Lunar Polar Exploration Mission to follow NET 2024, with JAXA (rover) and ESA (instrument suite) participation; ISRO cooperating with 60 nations per 2021-22 Department of Space Annual Report

Credits: ISRO