Junior Digest

Washington, Sep 6,2023: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday the company was waiting for the approval of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch another Starship spacecraft.

“Starship is ready to launch, awaiting FAA license approval,” Musk said on X (formerly known as Twitter).

SpaceX said on X earlier in the day that it had “fully stacked Starship on the launch pad at Starbase” in Texas.

SpaceX carried out the first combined launch of the Starship spacecraft and the Super Heavy first-stage booster in April. The spacecraft was deliberately blown up during the test flight after it began to lose altitude when multiple engines failed. The spacecraft climbed to an apogee of about 39 kilometers (24 miles) over the Gulf of Mexico, which is the highest point any Starship spacecraft has reached to date.

Musk said in late June that SpaceX would launch another Starship spacecraft in about six weeks, adding that the new launch has about a 60% probability of making it to orbit.

Chennai, Sep 1,2023: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said its maiden Solar exploratory Mission Aditya-L1 is not a complete one to study the Sun due to limited mass, power and volume of the spacecraft
that carries scientific payloads in space.
“Is Aditya-L1 a complete Mission to study the Sun. The obvious answer is a ‘NO’ which is not only true for Aditya-L1 but in general for any space mission”, ISRO said.
The reason is that due to the limited mass, power and volume of the spacecraft that carries the scientific payloads in space, only a limited set of instruments with limited capacity can be sent onboard the spacecraft, the Space Agency said.
In case of Aditya-L1, all the measurements will be made from the Lagrange point L1. As an example, the various phenomena of the sun are multi-directional and therefore the directional distribution of energy of explosive/eruptive phenomena will not be possible to study with Aditya-L1 alone, it added.
Another Lagrange point known as L5 is a good vantage point for studying the Earth directed CME events and assessing the space weather.
Also, the polar regions of the sun are not well studied due to technological challenges of achieving spacecraft orbits for such studies.
The sun polar dynamics and magnetic fields are believed to play important role in deriving the solar cycles. Further, the polarisation measurements of solar radiations at different wavelengths are required to understand the various processes occurring in and around the sun, ISRO said.

Chennai, Aug 21,2023: Ahead of its eagerly awaited soft landing on the moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday released the images of far side of Lunar area captured by Chandrayaan-3.
ISRO said the images of Lunar far side area were captured by the Lander Hazard Detection and Avoidance Camera (LHDAC). In all four images captured by LHDAC were released by ISRO.
This camera that assists in locating a safe landing area–without boulders or deep trenches–during the descent is developed by ISRO at Space Applications Centre (SAC), Bengaluru. SAC is one of the major centres of ISRO that focuses on the design of space-borne instruments for ISRO missions and development and operationalisation of applications of space technology for societal benefits.
The applications cover communication, broadcasting, navigation, disaster monitoring, meteorology, oceanography, environment monitoring and natural resources survey.

Bengaluru, Aug 23,2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the momentous moment of Chandrayaan-3’s successful soft-landing on the South Pole of the Moon is the triumph of the New India, and it is about crossing the ocean of difficulties, besides it is the cry of developed India.

“When we see such a history being made before our eyes, life becomes blessed. Such historical events become the eternal consciousness of a nation’s life. This moment is unforgettable. This moment is unprecedented. This moment is the victory cry of a developed India. This moment is the triumph of the new India. This moment is about crossing the ocean of difficulties. This moment is about walking on the path of victory,” he said.

“When we see such a history being made before our eyes, life becomes blessed. Such historical events become the eternal consciousness of a nation’s life,” he added.

Modi further said: “This moment holds the capability of 1.4 billion heartbeats. This moment signifies new energy, new belief, and new consciousness in India. This moment is the call of India’s ascending destiny.”

The first light of success in the dawn of the ‘Amrit Kaal’ has showered this year, and India took a pledge on Earth, and fulfilled it on the Moon, PM Modi said, adding, “And our scientific colleagues also said, “India is now on the moon.” Today, we have witnessed the new flight of New India in space.”

Extending his heartfelt congratulations to Team Chandrayaan and all the scientists of the country who worked tirelessly for years for this moment, Modi said though he is currently in South Africa to participate in the BRICS Summit, his heart was also focussed on the Chandrayaan Mission.

“As a new history unfolds, every Indian is immersed in celebration, and festivities have begun in every household. From my heart, I am also connected with my fellow countrymen and my family members with enthusiasm,” he said.

Modi said through the hard work and talent of India’s scientists, the country has reached the South Pole of the Moon where no other country in the world has ever reached.

From today onwards, the myths associated with the Moon will change, narratives will change, and even proverbs for the new generation will change, Modi said.

“In India, we refer to the Earth as our mother and the Moon as our ‘Mama’ (maternal uncle). It used to be said that “Chanda Mama is quite far away.” Now a day will come when children will say, “Chanda Mama is just a ‘tour’ away,” he said.

On this joyous occasion, Modi said India’s successful moon mission is not India’s alone and this success belongs to all of humanity.

“This is a year in which the world is witnessing India’s G-20 presidency. Our approach of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ is resonating across the globe. This human-centric approach that we represent has been welcomed universally. Our moon mission is also based on the same human-centric approach. Therefore, this success belongs to all of humanity,” he said.

This will also help moon missions by other countries in the future, Modi said and expressed confidence that all countries in the world, including those from the Global South, are capable of achieving such feats. “We can all aspire for the moon and beyond,” he said.

MOdi said this achievement of the Chandrayaan Mission will propel India’s journey beyond the Moon’s orbit.

“We will test the limits of our solar system and continue working to realize the infinite possibilities of the universe for humanity. We have set many big and ambitious goals for the future,” he said.

Soon, PM Modi said ISRO will launch the ‘Aditya L-1’ mission for in-depth study of the Sun, and following that, Venus is on ISRO’s agenda.

Through the Gaganyaan mission, the country is diligently preparing for its first human spaceflight mission, and India is repeatedly proving that the sky is not the limit.

Modi said science and technology are the foundation of a bright future for India, and this day will inspire all Indians to move towards a brighter future.

“The country will remember this day forever. This day will inspire all of us to move towards a brighter future. This day will show us the path to fulfilling our resolutions. This day symbolizes how victory is achieved by taking lessons from defeat. Once again, heartfelt congratulations to all the scientists of the country and best wishes for future missions! Thank you very much,” he said.

Earlier, India made history on Wednesday after its Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeded in soft-landing on the South Pole of the Moon.

India became the first nation to land on the south pole of the moon, and fourth to land on the north pole of it.

This was ISRO’s third attempt to land Chandrayaan on the Moon four years after its predecessor crashed on the lunar surface.

ISRO came out trumps during the critical process of soft-landing, which was dubbed by many including ISRO officials as 17 minutes of terror.

The lander fired its engines at the right times and altitudes, and used the right amount of fuel, besides scanning the lunar surface for any obstacles before it finally touched down on the Moon.

The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole.

The soft-landing was attempted days after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control.

After the second and final deboosting operation on August 20, the LM was placed in a 25 km x 134 km orbit around the Moon.

Chennai, Sep 15,2023: The fourth earth-bound manoeuvre of the Aditya L­1 mission to study the sun was successfully performed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday morning.
The orbit raising was performed at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru at 0200 hrs early today.
ISRO posted “Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, successfully completed its fourth earth-bound manoeuvre in the early hours of Thursday/Friday.
“The fourth Earth-bound manoeuvre (EBN#4) is performed successfully”, it said. ISRO’s ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation, while a transportable terminal
currently stationed in the Fiji islands for Aditya-L1 will support post-burn operations,” the space agency wrote on X.
The new orbit attained is 256 km x 121973 km. The next manoeuvre, Trans-Lagragean Point 1 Insertion (TL1I), which marks a send-off from the Earth, is scheduled for around 2 am on September 19.
“Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, successfully completed its fourth earth-bound manoeuvre in the early hours of Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced.
“The fourth Earth-bound manoeuvre (EBN#4) is performed successfully. Isro’s ground stations at Mauritius, Bengaluru, SDSC-SHAR and Port Blair tracked the satellite during this operation, while a transportable terminal currently stationed in the Fiji islands for Aditya-L1 will support post-burn operations,” the space agency said.

Sept 27,2023: Scientists at the United States space agency NASA found “black dust and debris” when they opened the space capsule that recently returned to Earth with the largest asteroid sample ever brought back from space.

NASA said on Tuesday that researchers discovered “dust and debris on the avionics deck of the Osiris-REx science canister when the initial lid was removed today”.

The space agency did not specify whether the materials discovered on opening the lid of the probe definitely belonged to the asteroid, though NASA said on social media that “scientists gasped as the lid was lifted from the [Osiris-REx] asteroid sample return canister”.

“A scientific treasure box,” NASA Astromaterials said in a social media post.

“Dark powder and sand-sized particles” were found on “the inside of the lid and base”, NASA said.

Los Angles, Sept 15,2023: NASA announced Thursday it has appointed a director for study on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP). Now officially known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), ‘UFOs’ have certainly long captivated our curiosity.
Mark McInerney was appointed as NASA director of UAP research. He will centralize communications, resources, and data analytical capabilities to establish a robust database for the evaluation of future UAP.
He also will leverage NASA’s expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and space-based observation tools to support and enhance the broader government initiative on UAP, according to NASA.
The move came in response to recommendation by an independent study team for NASA to play a more prominent role in understanding UAP.
The team is a counsel of 16 community experts across diverse areas on matters relevant to potential methods of study for UAP.
NASA commissioned the independent study to better understand how the agency can contribute to ongoing government efforts to further observation of events in the sky that cannot be identified as balloons, aircraft, or as known natural phenomena from a scientific perspective.
NASA released a report of the independent study team on UAP, containing its findings and recommendations which aim to inform NASA on what possible data is available to be collected and how the agency can help shed light on the origin and nature of future UAP.
NASA commissioned a study team in 2022 to investigate such hard-to-easily-classify reports, and tomorrow they’re revealing the highly anticipated findings at a media briefing.

Sriharikota ( Andhra Pradesh), September 2,2023: The PSLV-C57.1 rocket carrying the Aditya-L1 orbiter, lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 11.50 am on Saturday.
The successful launch of the maiden solar mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) came on the heels of the historic lunar landing mission — Chandrayaan-3.
The ISRO successfully placed a lander on the unexplored lunar South Pole, a feat that put India in the record books as the first country to do so.
According to the agency, the Aditya-L1 mission is expected to reach the observation point in four months.
It will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), which is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the sun.
It will carry seven different payloads to have a detailed study of the sun, four of which will observe the light from the sun and the other three will measure in-situ parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.
The largest and technically most challenging payload on Aditya-L1 is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph or VELC.
VELC was integrated, tested, and calibrated at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’ CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science Technology) campus in Hosakote in collaboration with ISRO.
This strategic location will enable Aditya-L1 to continuously observe the sun without being hindered by eclipses or occultation, allowing scientists to study solar activities and their impact on space weather in real time. Also, the spacecraft’s data will help identify the sequence of processes that lead to solar eruptive events and contribute to a deeper understanding of space weather drivers.
Major objectives of India’s solar mission include the study of the physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism, the solar wind acceleration, coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy, and origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and flares and near-earth space weather.
According to the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the atmosphere of the sun, the corona, is what is seen during a total solar eclipse. A coronagraph like the VELC is an instrument that cuts out the light from the disk of the sun, and can thus image the much fainter corona at all times,
Earlier, on August 23, India became the fourth country after the US, China, and Russia to have successfully placed a lander on the moon’s surface.
After the historic touchdown, the ‘Vikram’ lander and the ‘Pragyan’ rover performed different set tasks on the lunar surface, including finding the presence of sulphur and recording relative temperature.
The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, were a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, the rover moving on the moon’s surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.
Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was eventually deemed to have failed its core mission objectives.

Chennai, Aug 23,2023: Marking a monumental event in its space journey, India scripted history by becoming the first country to explore the South Polar region when its third Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully soft landed on the Moon’s surface on Wednesday evening.
The powered descent of the Lander Module (LM), carrying a Rover, on board the Chandrayaan-3, started at 5.44 pm and after the challenging task of performing rough and fine braking maneuvres, it made a soft landing on the moon’s surface at 6.00 pm.
This was ISRO’s third attempt to land Chandrayaan on the Moon four years after its predecessor crashed on the lunar surface.
ISRO came out trumps during the critical process of soft-landing, which was dubbed by many including ISRO officials as 17 minutes of terror.
The lander fired its engines at the right times and altitudes, and used the right amount of fuel, besides scanning the lunar surface for any obstacles before it finally touched down on the Moon.
The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole.
The soft-landing was attempted days after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control.
After the second and final deboosting operation on August 20, the LM was placed in a 25 km x 134 km orbit around the Moon.
ISRO had been releasing a series of up-close images of the moon, assisting the lander module in determining its position (latitude and longitude) by matching them against an onboard moon reference map.The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14.

A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it was through a series of orbital manoeuvres been lowered closer to the moon’s surface.
Ever since the July 14 launch, ISRO had been maintaining that the health of the spacecraft remained “normal”. On August 5, Chandrayaan-3 was successfully inserted into the lunar orbit with multiple key manoeuvres thereafter.

Vladivistok, Sep 28,2023: Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos announced that two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut have safely returned to the Earth on Wednesday after living for a year in the International Space Station (ISS).

The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, carrying Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, and Frank Rubio, had undocked from the Prichal module of the ISS earlier Wednesday and landed in Kazakhstan at 14:17 Moscow time (1117 GMT), Roscosmos said on its official website.

After a 371-day stay in space, Prokopyev and Petelin made the longest flight program in the ISS history.
During his two space flights, Prokopyev accumulated more than 567 days and more than 55 hours in total for eight spacewalks. Petelin, who made his first space flight, accumulated more than 39 hours in total for six spacewalks.

New Delhi, Oct 18,2023: Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on Wednesday called upon the world to use outer space for peaceful purposes and keep it free of conflict.

Delivering the keynote address at the two-day Conference on Space in New Delhi, he said, “India stands for international Space collaborations for the larger benefit of mankind”.

“India has consistently adhered to the principles of transparency, accountability, and peaceful uses of Space” he added.

Jitendra Singh also urged other nations including China to engage in open dialogue with others so that we share each other’s missions, and ventures without being secretive or suspicious.

The Minister said India’s space missions are designed to be cost-effective, building upon human resources and skills.

Underlining that India’s Space programme is not only globally competitive but also excelling, he reiterated that India’s Space programme is entirely peaceful and that ISRO is collaborating with the world’s leading Space agencies to bring ‘Ease of Living’ for the common citizen.

“Even though the USA and the then Soviet Union had started their Space journey long before us and America also landed a human being on the surface of the Moon in 1969, it was nevertheless our Chandrayaan that brought home the evidence of water on the surface of the Moon,” he said.

Singh said the Russian moon mission, which was unsuccessful, cost 16,000 crore rupees, and India’s (Chandrayaan-3) mission cost just around 600 crore Rupees.

The Union Minister said ISRO has launched more than 380 foreign satellites, earning more than 220 Million Euros and over 170 Million US dollars by launching American satellites.

” India’s Space economy today stands at about 8 billion dollars and it will reach 40 billion dollars by 2040″ he added.

New Delhi , August 23,2023: After watching live telecast of moon landing of Vikram lander, President Droupadi Murmu conveyed her congratulatory message to ISRO and everyone associated with Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Taking to Twitter President Droupadi Murmu said, “There are days when history is made. Today, with the successful moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, our scientists have not only made history, but also remade the idea of geography! It is truly a momentous occasion, the kind of event that happens once in a lifetime, making all Indians proud. I congratulate ISRO and everybody involved in this mission, and wish them greater accomplishments ahead.”
President Droupadi Murmu further wrote, “The success of Chandrayaan, I believe, is also a major achievement for the whole of humankind. It shows how India has harnessed its rich traditional knowledge base along with modern science in the service of humanity.”
India has become the fourth country- after the US, China and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface, it has earned a place in record books as the first to touchdown on the south side of Earth’s only natural satellite.

BEIJING, Oct 5,2023: China plans to expand its space station to six modules from three in coming years, offering astronauts from other nations an alternative platform for near-Earth missions as the NASA-led International Space Station (ISS) nears the end of its lifespan.

The operational lifetime of the Chinese space station will be more than 15 years, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a unit of China’s main space contractor, said at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday.
That would be more than the 10 years previously announced.
China’s self-built space station, also known as Tiangong, or Celestial Palace in Chinese, has been fully operational since late 2022, hosting a maximum of three astronauts at an orbital altitude of up to 450 km (280 miles).

At 180 metric tons after its expansion to six modules, Tiangong is still just 40% of the mass of the ISS, which can hold a crew of seven astronauts. But the ISS, in orbit for more than two decades, is expected to be decommissioned after 2030, about the same time China has said it expects to become “a major space power”.

Chinese state media said last year as Tiangong became fully operational that China would be no “slouch” as the ISS headed toward retirement, adding that “several countries” had asked to send their astronauts to the Chinese station.

But in a blow to China’s aspirations for space diplomacy, the European Space Agency (ESA) said this year it did not have the budgetary or “political” green light to participate in Tiangong, shelving a years-long plan for a visit by European astronauts.

“Giving up cooperation with China in the manned space domain is clearly short-sighted, which reveals that the U.S.-led camp confrontation has led to a new space race,” the Global Times, a nationalist Chinese tabloid, wrote at the time.

Tiangong has become an emblem of China’s growing clout and confidence in its space endeavours, and a challenger to the United States in the domain after being isolated from the ISS. It is banned by U.S. law from any collaboration, direct or indirect, with NASA.

Russia, a participant in the ISS, has similar space diplomacy plans, suggesting that Moscow’s partners in the BRICS group – Brazil, India, China and South Africa – could construct a module for its space station.

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said last year it was planning to build a space station comprising six modules that could accommodate up to four cosmonauts.

Bengaluru , August 28,2023: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday announced that it will launch the Aditya-L1 Solar Mission, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun on September 2, 2023.
The launch of the solar mission will take place on September 2, 2023, at 11:50 am from Sriharikota.

Taking to X (former Twitter), ISRO said, “The launch of Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is scheduled for September 2, 2023, at 11:50 Hrs IST from Sriharikota. Citizens are invited to witness the launch from the Launch View Gallery at Sriharikota by registering here: https://lvg.shar.gov.in/VSCREGISTRATION/index.jsp. Commencement of registration will be announced there.”
Aditya L1 shall be the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun. The spacecraft shall be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth.
A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipses. This will provide a greater advantage in observing solar activities and their effect on space weather in real-time.

The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic particle and magnetic field detectors.
ISRO also mentioned the the objectives of Aditya-L1 mission.
“Study of Solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics. Study of chromospheric and coronal heating, physics of the partially ionized plasma, initiation of the coronal mass ejections, and flares. Observe the in-situ particle and plasma environment providing data for the study of particle dynamics from the Sun,” an official statement issued by ISRO said.
“Physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism.Diagnostics of the coronal and coronal loops plasma: Temperature, velocity and density.Development, dynamics and origin of CMEs.
Identify the sequence of processes that occur at multiple layers (chromosphere, base and extended corona) which eventually leads to solar eruptive events. Magnetic field topology and magnetic field measurements in the solar corona. Drivers for space weather (origin, composition and dynamics of solar wind,” it added.

Earlier India took a giant leap on September 23 evening as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon’s South Pole, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat and bringing to an end the disappointment over the crash landing of the Chandrayaan-2, four years ago.
Overall, India became the fourth country – after the US, China, and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface

Bengaluru, Aug 26,2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and interacted with Chandrayaan-3 team and other ISRO scientists after Vikram Lander successfully landed on the uncharted South Pole of the Moon.
By doing this, India became the first country to soft land on the South Pole of the Moon.
An almost tearful PM Modi addressed ISRO scientists and was briefed about the updates on Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, that landed softly on the lunar surface.
He also named Chandrayaan-3 landing point as Shivashakti and Chandrayaan-2 point as Tiranga. PM Modi also announced that August 23 will be celebrated as National Space Day.
He also said, “I was in South Africa but my mind was with the scientists.” In a choked voice, PM Modi further said, “I first wanted to meet the scientists ….”

He said this is the new Bharat that spreads light across the world. “This is today’s Bharat on full blown display. This is Bharat that thinks new. This is that Bharat that spreads light across the world. India will lead the solutions for the world. I keep reliving every second before touchdown. That moment of touchdown is unforgettable. Moment of touchdown is eternal for India.”

PM Modi said Chandrayaan’s success is not only the success of India, but also it is the success of humanity once again.

“I want to congratulate all scientists, technicians and all of you who are part of this mission,” he said.

Earlier, the Chandrayaan-3 team demonstrated the soft-landing of Vikram and rolling out of Pragyan (rover) from its belly.
ISRO Chairman S Somnath updated the Chandrayaan-3 mission to PM Modi.

After landing in Bengaluru from South Africa where he attended the 15th BRICS meeting, addressed people chanting “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan.”

He said the picture which he saw at Bengaluru, is the same picture he saw in Greece and Johannesburg as well.

He added, “It’s really surprising that you all are here and even kids are also here too early in the morning.”

Local performers were seen dancing and playing dhol on the streets in front of HAL airport.
People were seen excitedly waving the national flag and posters made for the PM’s arrival and to celebrate the over-the-moon success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
After the US, China and Russia, India achieved a significant milestone by becoming the fourth country to achieve a successful Moon landing.
The mission was launched on July 14 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre situated in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

Moscow, Aug 14,2023: The scientific devices of Russia’s Luna-25 lunar mission went activate and carried out their first measurements on Sunday, the Russian space corporation Roscosmos said.

The first lunar mission in Russia’s post-Soviet space history launched on Friday and is scheduled to land on the Moon on August 21.

“Today the scientific equipment, developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute, was switched on for the first time in the conditions of space flight,” Roscosmos said in a statement.

The space corporation confirmed that telemetry information from all the devices showed that they function nominally. The data gathered by the station on its way to the Moon was already received, and the project’s scientific team began processing it, according to the statement.

Chennai, Aug 23,2023: Just two hours after making it successful landing on South Polar region, the Lander Module (LM) on board the third Lunar Mission Chandrayaan-3 captured images, confirming the communication link it established with the Ground stations.
ISRO released four pictures taken by the Lander Camera during the powered descent while soft landing on the moon’s surface, the first country in the world to achieve this monumental feat, that brought accolades to the Indian Space Agency from across the world.
“ISRO said “Chandrayaan-3 Mission Updates: The communication link is established between the Ch-3 Lander and MOX-ISTRAC, Bengaluru”.
“Here are the images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent”, it said.
Earlier, soon after the soft landing, ISRO said “Chandrayaan-3 India reached my destination and you too!”.
“Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon. Congratulations, India”, it said.

Aug 11,2023: Russia has launched its first mission to the moon in nearly 50 years, pitting it in a space race with India, which is also aiming to land a lunar craft this month.

The launch of the Luna-25 craft to the moon on Friday was Russia’s first since 1976 when it was part of the Soviet Union and was conducted without assistance from the European Space Agency, which ended cooperation with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

The launch from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Far East took place at 2:10am Moscow time Friday (23:10 GMT Thursday), according to live images broadcast by the Russian space agency Roscosmos.

The four-legged lander weighs approximately 800kg (1,750 pounds) and is due to reach lunar orbit in five days.

It will then spend between three and seven days choosing the right spot before landing in the lunar south pole area.

“For the first time in history, the lunar landing will take place on the lunar south pole. Until now, everyone has been landing in the equatorial zone,” senior Roscosmos official Alexander Blokhin said in a recent interview.

The lander is expected to reach the moon’s surface on August 23, around the same time as an Indian craft, which was launched on July 14.

Both countries’ modules are headed for the lunar south pole, an area where no spacecraft has landed smoothly. Only three governments have managed successful moon landings: the Soviet Union, the United States and China.

Roscosmos said the module would operate for one year and “take and analyse soil samples and conduct long-term scientific research” on lunar surface material and the atmosphere.

Chennai, Aug 30,2023: In a significant breakthrough, payloads on board the Chandryaa-3 spacecraft, the third Lunar Mission, has found presence of several chemical substances including aluminium, sulphur, calcium,iron, chromium and titanium on the south polar region of the moon and the search is on for finding Hydrogen.
This is the first major revelation captured by the cameras carried by the Rover, which was deployed on August 23 on the lunar surface, by the Lander Module on board the spacecraft.
ISRO said “The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole.”
“These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of Sulphur (S) in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters”, it said.
ISRO posted in X “Chandrayaan-3 Mission : In-situ scientific experiments continue ….Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the Rover unambiguously confirms the presence of Sulphur (S) in the lunar
surface near the south pole, through first-ever in-situ measurements”.
“Al, Ca, Fe, Cr, Ti, Mn, Si, and O are also detected, as expected. Search for Hydrogen (H) is underway”, it said.
LIBS is a scientific technique that analyzes the composition of materials by exposing them to intense laser pulses.
A high-energy laser pulse is focused onto the surface of a material, such as a rock or soil.
The laser pulse generates an extremely hot and localized plasma. The collected plasma light is spectrally resolved and detected by detectors such as Charge Coupled Devices. Since each element emits a characteristic set of wavelengths of light when it’s in a plasma state, the elemental composition of the material is determined. it said, in an update.
Preliminary analyses, graphically represented, have unveiled the presence of Aluminum (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr) and Titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface.
Further measurements have revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O).
Thorough investigation regarding the presence of Hydrogen is underway.
LIBS payload is developed at the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems