Tag: moon

ISRO releases breathtaking snapshots of the Moon as viewed by Chandrayaan 3 Spacecraft

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) disseminated the inaugural portrayals of the lunar terrain, as adeptly captured by Chandrayaan-3, signifying India’s third expedition to the lunar realm. Chandrayaan-3 achieved the remarkable feat of acquiring these mesmerizing depictions after entering the lunar orbit on the previous Saturday.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft has traversed around two-thirds of the interplanetary journey to the moon since its initiation and impeccably attained the lunar orbit on the aforementioned Saturday, as officially confirmed by ISRO. Employing the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle as its conduit, the spacecraft’s successful lift-off occurred on July 14, emanating from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre situated in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

https://twitter.com/chandrayaan_3/status/1688215948531015681?s=20

In an accomplishment emblematic of India’s technological prowess, the nation now occupies a select echelon as only the fourth sovereign entity, following the United States, China, and Russia, to have achieved the feat of alighting its spacecraft onto the lunar regolith, thereby eloquently showcasing India’s proficiency in orchestrating a secure and gentle touchdown upon the moon’s surface.

Upon achieving its anticipated touchdown, Chandrayaan-3 is slated to perform its operational duties for a solitary lunar day, an interval equivalent to approximately 14 terrestrial days. This distinctive synchrony arises from the moon’s peculiar rotational dynamics, where one complete lunar rotation aligns with the passage of 14 days as recognized on Earth. Intriguingly, the financial allocation earmarked for the realization of Chandrayaan-3 is quantified at Rs 250 crore, a valuation that does not encompass the associated launch vehicle costs.

The developmental trajectory of Chandrayaan-3 embarked in the embryonic stage of January 2020, primed for a voyage initially slated for the subsequent year, namely 2021. However, the unanticipated onset of the Covid-19 pandemic wrought unforeseen disruptions to the strategic timeline of the mission.

Chandrayaan-3 stands as ISRO’s subsequent foray, representing an earnest endeavour to facilitate upon the setbacks encountered during the Chandrayaan-2 mission of 2019, which faced formidable challenges during its attempt at a gentle lunar landing, culminating in the acknowledgement of a shortfall in the achievement of its foundational mission objectives.

Humans could be living on the Moon in 10 years, says NASA

Space exploration is undoubtedly a vital part of the human experience that could bring about the advancement of humanity on a greater scale. While humans have the ambition to migrate to a different planet like Mars, we have not even been able to base a camp on the Moon! Interstellar travel is only limited to Nolan films in the current scenario, however, it looks like things are about to change.

Humans could live on Moon

NASA has claimed recently that humans could be living on the moon as soon as the next 10 years. The Artemis rocket was launched recently containing the Orion lunar spacecraft which is the inception of the start of a mission to take astronauts back to the moon. There has been nearly a fifty-year hiatus from moon landings and humanity is gearing up to bring them back, and how!

Howard Hu, the head of the Orion program recently said to the BBC that in this decade itself, NASA will have people living for durations on the moon. The Orion program head also shared that depending on how long humans will be on the surface, the Moon will have habitats and rovers on the ground! Howard stated furthermore that NASA will definitely be sending people up to the Moon’s surface and they will be ‘doing science’. This will be the first step NASA is taking for long-term deep space exploration not just for the United States but also for the world.

If you ask me, space exploration has been not just a fascinating subject but also a realization of us being a speckle of dust in the vast universe. However, the conspiracy theories about the ‘dark side of the moon’ have also been intriguing to me. Thus, it will be interesting to see where humanity lands up with this level of space exploration where we base camps on the surface of the moon!

Jeff Bezos Offers NASA $2 Billion For Moon Mission Contract

Fresh off his trip to space, Founder and Chairperson of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, offered NASA a discount of at least $2 Billion on Monday. The catch being, the space agency has to agree upon giving his company, Blue Origin, a lucrative human lunar landing system contract.

The contract, which aims to send astronauts to the moon, was offered to his rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX earlier this year. Musk won the $2.9 billion bid to build a spacecraft to bring astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2024.

Bezos, in his open letter to Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, said that Blue Origin would waive payments in the government’s current fiscal year and the next ones after that up to $2 billion. The company would accept a firm, fixed-priced contract and cover any system development cost overruns.

“Without competition, NASA’s short-term and long-term lunar ambitions will be delayed, will ultimately cost more, and won’t serve the national interest.”

Bezos added,

“We are convinced that, to America’s future in space, NASA must now quickly and assuredly return to the moon. All NASA needs to do is take advantage of this offer.”

The plea comes a week before the watchdog Government Accountability Office rules a formal protest of NASA’s award to SpaceX that Blue Origin filed earlier this year. Lori Garver, a former Deputy Administrator at NASA, said that the amendment might not be as simple as it sounds.

Lori said that Bezos’ offer is something NASA shouldn’t brush aside, but it might not work out the same way Blue Origin wants it to.

“I see this as a positive sign overall but it should not impact the current awards or strategy,” he said.

Garver thinks it is unlikely that the ‘new offer’ would change NASA’s mind about the current award. She believes tweaking NASA’s decision to award SpaceX could spawn new legal problems for the agency.

“NASA just couldn’t take offers because funding is offered. There’s absolutely nothing to stop Blue from moving forward with their own money to get in a better position to win something in the next round,” Garver adds.

Jeff Bezos and fellow Billionaire Richard Branson are the only two significant players in the space tourism market. Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which completed a crewed flight, has historically sold seats between $200,000. And $250,000 per ticket.

Bezos’ offer comes six days after he completed a trip to the edge of the space along with other crewmates. The company is bidding big to become the key player in the space tourism market.

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