Chandrayaan: India On The Moon

With India’s first Moon Impact Probe landing on the moon’s surface Friday, the country has become a major player in the exclusive 21st century space race. “India planted a flag of sorts on the moon today as a probe painted in the national colors of green, white and orange slammed into the lunar landscape,” reports Bloomberg.

“The foil-wrapped Moon Impact Probe photographed the rocky surface and sampled the thin atmosphere during a half-hour freefall, the Indian Space Research Organization said. The device dropped from the larger, unmanned Chandrayaan-1 orbiter, circling some 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the moon.

“ ‘The space program achieved a unique feat today with the placing of the Indian tricolor on the moon’s surface on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday,’ the agency said, referring to the country’s first prime minister, who died in 1964 (and who is credited with promoting ’scientific temper’ in modern India).

“Almost 40 years after American Neil Armstrong became the first person on the moon, a growing list of nations plan manned or robotic visits over the next two decades, including the U.S. and China. India’s $78.9 million mission to map the lunar terrain is a step toward landing an unmanned rover by 2012.

“Chandrayaan, which means ‘moon craft,’ is expected to scan the surface from orbit for two years. It’s India’s first unmanned lunar probe, and was launched Oct. 22. (The mission’s chief goal is mapping the surface of the moon, as well as what lies beneath.)

“Chandrayaan is also carrying mapping instruments for the European Space Agency, radiation-measuring equipment for the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and two devices for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

“One of the NASA devices will look for ice deposits on the lunar poles, and the other will assess the moon’s mineral composition.” More here…

The Reuters reports: “India’s lunar project costs much less compared to Asian rivals China and Japan — in itself an achievement in maximizing results while staying within a tight budget.

“From 1963, when it first started its space programme, to the 2008 lunar mission — India has broken into the elitist club of space giants, dominated mainly by Russia, Europe and America.” More here…