India's Chandrayaan-2 Spacecraft Enters the Moon's Orbit (ctvnews.ca) 14
Long-time Slashdot reader William Robinson writes: An unmanned spacecraft, Chandrayaan 2, India launched last month has begun orbiting the moon before it lands on the far side to search for water. The spacecraft is in orbit of 114 km x 18072 km and will continue circling the moon in a tighter orbit until reaching a distance of about 100 km x 30 km from the moon's surface. "The lander will then separate from the orbiter and use rocket fuel to brake as it attempts to land in the south polar region of the moon on Sept. 7 -- an area where no moon landing has been attempted before," reports CTV News. The mission is carrying a total of 14 payloads -- 13 Indian and one passive payload from NASA -- with special focus of the orbiter on mapping craters in the polar region, besides checking for water again.
Space.com shares the first photo of the moon snapped by the spacecraft on Wednesday, noting that "If the lander safely touches down, India will become the fourth country to complete that feat, after the Soviet Union, the U.S. and China.
"The lander and rover would operate for one lunar day but are not designed to withstand the frigid lunar nights."
Space.com shares the first photo of the moon snapped by the spacecraft on Wednesday, noting that "If the lander safely touches down, India will become the fourth country to complete that feat, after the Soviet Union, the U.S. and China.
"The lander and rover would operate for one lunar day but are not designed to withstand the frigid lunar nights."
lol (Score:1)
Congratulations (Score:4, Insightful)
Congratulations to India for this achievement.
It's no small thing to get a spacecraft to the Moon; I applaud them and all the work that went into this.
Re: (Score:1)
Getting a unmanned spacecraft to the moon is relatively easy.
Shut the fuck up, you inbred cheesedick.
Just wait (Score:2)
Just wait until our non-existent Space Force hears about this- won't they be jealous!
Or, umm, they would be if they existed.
Re: (Score:2)
Just wait until our non-existent Space Force hears about this- won't they be jealous!
Or, umm, they would be if they existed.
Do you honestly think the US won't outsource Space Force to India? Trump will do it just to snub China and show his independence from Russia.
Where has it been? (Score:2)
I thought it only takes 4 days to get from earth to moon. Article says the craft launched last month?
Re:Where has it been? (Score:5, Insightful)
It takes as long as your mission design has planned for. To send people, you want to get them there fast, so you design a fast and expensive rocket to get them there in a few days. For a robotic mission, speed isn't a concern so you design a slower mission that is much cheaper.
Re: (Score:1)
Indian water crisis (Score:2)
I wasn't aware that the Indian water is so deep that they have to search for water on moon.