Having launched three planetary-science spacecraft, India's scientists and engineers at the state-owned Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) have set their sights on a Venus orbiter. They have sent plans for it to the Indian national government hoping for approval to go ahead with the mission. "The major objective is to...
India's Moon Mission Technically a Success
After a postponed launch, India’s Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft started its journey to the Moon on July 22. Onboard it carried the Vikram lander and the exploratory Pragyan rover, equipped to search the lunar south pole for water and other valuable resources. Things were going well for the lander until just before...
India Launches Space Probe to Lunar South Pole
On July 22, India launched a 3.8 ton satellite destined for the Moon. Lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, which means "moon vehicle" in Sanskrit, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh at 2:43 p.m., Monday local time (5:13 am ET). If the...
U.S., India, China Step-Up Moon Exploration
NASA scientists have plans to visit the Earth-Moon Lagrangian point, or EML-2, about 37,000 miles above the far side of the Moon, where the gravitational pull of two separate bodies creates "parking places" or stable areas to land orbiting spacecraft. There is no clear timeline to this plan yet. China...