Chandrayaan-1 amazing discoveries
From the images taken by Mini-SAR (synthetic aperture radar)from the Moon's coldest, darkest craters it was declared jointly by ISRO and NASA that Moon holds water !!!(It means water is not just turning from vapor to liquid, but also travelling to deposit in one place and to form ice)
The amount of ice is estimated to be 60 crore metric tonnes(too much ice to ski lots of fun :), soon we can see astronauts skiing on the ice during expedition break ).The oxygen thus produced by melting ice(2h20 -> 2h2 + 02) is enough to produce hydrogen as a fuel for return journey and enough oxygen to breathe.
So soon moon will be mans safe destination. With the present technology the time it takes for journey to moon is 3 days, it may come down to 2 soon in the future(The time it takes for the messages to pass by telephone line is 3 sec's!!!!). So if the water resource is readily available, soon countries quest for moons prime and richest resource helium will pickup.
On the same lines let us recall the list of experiments we set on moon so far:
Pioneer 0 - USA Lunar Orbiter - (August 17, 1958)
First stage exploded.
Pioneer 1 - USA Lunar Orbiter - (October 11, 1958)
Failed to reach escape velocity.
Pioneer 3 - USA Lunar Flyby - (December 6, 1958)
Failed to reach escape velocity.
Luna 1 - USSR Lunar Flyby - 361 kg - (January 2, 1959)
Luna 1 was the first lunar flyby. It discovered the solar wind and is now in a solar orbit.
Pioneer 4 - USA Lunar Distant Flyby - 5.9 kg - (March 3, 1959)
Space probe is now in solar orbit.
Luna 2 - USSR Lunar Hard Lander - 387 kg - (September 12, 1959)
Luna 2 was the first spacecraft to impact the surface of the moon on September 14, 1959.
Luna 3 - USSR Lunar Far Side Flyby - 278.5 kg - (October 4, 1959)
Encountered the Moon on October 7, 1959 and returned the first image of the Moon's hidden side. Space probe is now in a decayed earth-moon orbit.
Ranger 3 - USA Lunar Hard Lander - 327 kg - (January 26, 1962)
Lunar probe missed the moon and is now in a solar orbit.
Ranger 4 - USA Lunar Hard Lander - 328 kg - (April 23, 1962)
First US lunar impact of the Moon.
Ranger 5 - USA Lunar Flyby - 340 kg - (October 18, 1962)
Ranger 5 was to be a lander but became a flyby because of a spacecraft failure. It is now in a solar orbit.
Luna 4 - USSR Lunar Probe - 1,422 kg - (April 2, 1963)
Lunar 4 was intended to be a lunar lander but missed the Moon. It is now in an Earth Moon orbit.
Ranger 6 - USA Lunar Hard Lander - 361.8 kg - (January 30, 1964)
Cameras failed; lunar probe impacted the surface of the Moon.
Ranger 7 - USA Lunar Hard Lander - 362 kg - (July 28, 1964)
Arrived on July 31, 1964, sent pictures back at a close range, and impacted the Moon.
Ranger 8 - USA Lunar Hard Lander - 366 kg - (February 17, 1965)
Ranger 8 arrived at the moon on February 20, 1965. It sent back high-resolution pictures until it impacted in Mare Tranquillitatis.
Ranger 9 - USA Lunar HARD Lander - 366 kg - (March 21, 1965)
Lunar probe sent pictures of its impact on the moon.
Luna 5 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander - 1,474 kg - (May 9, 1965)
The lunar soft-lander failed and impacted the moon.
Luna 6 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander - 1,440 kg - (June 8, 1965)
Missed the moon and is now in a solar orbit.
Zond 3 - USSR Lunar Flyby - 959 kg - (July 18, 1965)
Returned pictures of the lunar far side. It is now in a solar orbit.
Luna 7 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander - 1,504 kg - (October 4, 1965)
Luna 7 failed and impacted the moon.
Luna 8 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander - 1,550 kg - (December 3, 1965)
Luna 8 failed and impacted the moon.
Luna 9 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander - 1,580 kg - (January 31, 1966)
Luna 9 landed on the lunar surface and retuned the first photographs from the surface.
Luna 10 - USSR Lunar Orbiter - 1,597 kg - (March 31, 1966)
Luna 10 is currently in a lunar orbit.
Surveyor 1 - USA Lunar Soft Lander - 269 kg - (April 30, 1966 to 1967)
Surveyor 1 was the first American soft landing on the lunar surface.
Lunar Orbiter 1 - USA Lunar Orbiter - 386 kg - (August 10, 1966)
Lunar Orbiter 1 orbited the moon, photographed the far side, and then impacted on command.
Luna 11 - USSR Lunar Orbiter - 1,638 kg - (August 24, 1966)
Luna 11 is currently in a lunar orbit.
Surveyor 2 - USA Lunar Soft Lander - 292 kg - (September 20, 1966)
Surveyor 2 failed and impacted the moon.
Luna 12 - USSR Lunar Orbiter - 1,620 - (October 22, 1966-1967)
Luna 12 is in a lunar orbit.
Lunar Orbiter 2 - USA Lunar Orbiter - 390 kg - (November 6, 1966)
Orbited the moon, photographed the far side for potential Apollo landing sites, then impacted on command.
Luna 13 - USSR Lunar Soft Lander - 1,700 kg - (December 21, 1966)
Landed on the lunar surface.
Lunar Orbiter 3 - USA Lunar Orbiter - 385 kg - (February 5, 1967)
Orbited the moon, photographed the far side for potential Apollo landing sites, then impacted on command.
Surveyor 3 - USA Lunar Soft Lander - 283 kg - (April 17, 1967)
Landed on the lunar surface.
Lunar Orbiter 4 - USA Lunar Orbiter - 390 kg - (May 4, 1967)
Orbited the moon at a polar inclination and impacted on command.
Surveyor 4 - USA Lunar Soft Lander - 283 kg - (July 14, 1967)
Lander failed and impacted the moon.
Explorer 35 - USA Lunar Orbiter - 104 kg - (July 19, 1967 - 1972)
Orbiter acquired field and particle data.
Lunar Orbiter 5 - USA Lunar Orbiter - 389 kg (August 1, 1967)
Orbited the moon at a polar inclination, took high resolution pictures of many important sites, and impacted on command.
Surveyor 5 - USA Lunar Soft Lander - 279 kg - (September 8, 1967)
Landed on the lunar surface.
Surveyor 6 - USA Lunar Soft Lander - 280 kg - (November 7, 1967)
Landed on and took off from the lunar surface.
Surveyor 7 - USA Lunar Soft Lander - 1,036 kg - (January 7, 1968)
Landed on the lunar surface.
Luna 14 - USSR Lunar Orbiter - 1,700 kg - (April 7, 1968)
Luna 14 is in a lunar-solar orbit.
Zond 5 - USSR Lunar Flyby - 5,375 kg - (September 14, 1968)
Lunar fly-around and earth return.
Zond 6 - USSR Flyby - 5,375 - (November 10, 1968)
Lunar fly-around and earth return.
Apollo 8 - USA Lunar Manned Orbiter - 28,883 kg - (December 21-27, 1968)
Crew: Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., William Anders.
The crew undertook the first manned lunar fly-around and Earth return. The astronauts made 10 orbits of the moon on Christmas Eve.
Apollo 10 - USA Lunar Manned Orbiter - 42,530 kg - (May 18-26, 1969)
Crew: Thomas Stafford, Eugene A. Cernan, John W. Young.
Manned lunar fly-around and Earth return. Stafford and Cernan tested the Lunar Module, separating it from the Command and Service Module and descended to within 50,000 feet of the lunar surface. The astronauts acquired a large number of excellent 70-mm photographs.
Luna 15 - USSR Lunar Lander - 2,718 kg - (July 13, 1969)
Unsuccessful sample return attempt. Crashed during landing.
Apollo 11 - USA Lunar Manned Lander - 43,811 kg - (July 16-24, 1969)
Crew: Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., Michael Collins.
Apollo 11 was the first manned lunar landing, which took place on July 20, 1969. The landing site was Mare Tranquillitatis at latitude 0°67' N and longitude 23°49' E. Armstrong and Aldrin collected 21.7 kilograms of soil and rock samples and deployed experiments.
Zond 7 - USSR Lunar Flyby - 5,979 kg - (August 8, 1969)
Lunar fly-around and Earth return.
Apollo 12 - USA Lunar Manned Lander - 43,848 kg - (November 14-24, 1969)
Crew: Charles Conrad Jr., Alan L. Bean, Richard F. Gordon, Jr.
Apollo 12 was a manned lunar landing which took place on November 19, 1969. The landing site was Oceanus Procellarum at latitude 3°12' S and longitude 23°23' W. This was the landing site for Surveyor 3. Conrad and Bean retrieved portions of Surveyor 3, including the camera. Samples amounting to 34.4 kilograms were returned from the moon. Astronauts also deployed the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP), an automated research station which was also deployed by all subsequent lunar crews.
Apollo 13 - USA Lunar Flyby - 43,924 kg - (April 11-17, 1970)
Crew: James A. Lovell, Jr., Fred W. Haise, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr.
The Apollo 13 mission became one of survival for the astronauts on board. During the translunar coast an explosion destroyed both power and propulsion systems of the Command Service Module. The Lunar Module was used as a lifeboat for the astronauts.
Luna 16 - USSR Lunar Lander - 5,600 kg - (September 12, 1970)
Landed on September 20, 1970 at Mare Fecunditaits located at latitude 0°41' S and longitude 56°18' E. A return vehicle brought 100 grams of lunar samples to Earth.
Zond 8 - USSR Lunar Flyby - (October 20, 1970)
Lunar flyby and earth return.
Luna 17 - USSR Lunar Lander and Rover - 5,600 kg - (November 10, 1970 - 1971)
Made lunar landing with an automated Lunokhod 1 rover.
Apollo 14 - USA Lunar Manned Lander - 44,456 kg - (January 31 to February 8, 1971)
Crew: Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell, Stuart A. Roosa.
Shepard and Mitchell landed on the moon on February 5, 1971, in the Fra Mauro highlands, located at 3°40' S and longitude 17°28' E. They collected 42.9 kilograms of lunar samples and used a hand-held cart to transport rocks and equipment.
Apollo 15 - USA Lunar Manned Lander - 46,723 kg - (July 26 to August 7, 1971)
Crew: David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, Alfred M. Worden.
Scott and Irwin landed on the moon on July 30, 1971. The landing site was Hadley-Apennine at latitude 26°6' N and longitude 3°39' E. They collected samples amounting to 76.8 kilograms. A lunar Roving Vehicle was carried on this mission (and all subsequent ones) which allowed the astronauts to travel several kilometers from the landing site. The commander service module was the first to carry orbital sensors and to release a subsatellite into lunar orbit. Worden performed the first deep spacewalk to retrieve film from the service module.
Luna 18 - USSR Lunar Lander - 5,600 kg - (September 2, 1971 - 1972)
Unsuccessful sample return attempt. Crashed during landing.
Luna 19 - USSR Lunar Orbiter - 5,600 kg - (September 28, 1971 - 1972)
The orbiter is now in a lunar orbit.
Luna 20 - USSR Lunar Lander - 5,600 kg - (February 14, 1972)
Landed on the moon and returned samples to the Earth. Landed on February 21, 1972 at Apollonius highlands located at latitude 3°32' N and longitude 56°33' E. 30 grams of lunar samples were returned to the Earth.
Apollo 16 - USA Manned Lunar Lander - 46,733 kg - (April 16-27, 1972)
Crew: John W. Young, Charles M. Duke, Jr., Thomas K. Mattingly II.
Young and Duke landed on April 21, 1972, at the Descartes crater located at latitude 9°00' N and longitude 15°31' E. They deployed instruments, drove the lunar rover, and collected 94.7 kilograms of samples during a 71-hour surface stay.
Apollo 17 - USA Manned Lunar Lander - 46,743 kg - (December 7-19, 1972)
Crew: Eugene A. Cernan, Harrison H. Schmitt, and Ronald B. Evans.
Cernan and Schmitt landed on the moon on December 12, 1972. The landing site was Taurus-Littrow at latitude 20°10' N and longitude 30°46' E. They returned 110.5 kg of rock and soil samples. The astronauts covered 30.5 kilometers in the lunar rover during a 75-hour stay.
Luna 21 - USSR Lunar Lander and Rover - 4,850 kg - (January 8, 1973)
Made lunar landing with an automated Lunokhod 2 rover.
Luna 22 - USSR Lunar Orbiter - 5,600 kg - (May 29, 1974 - 1975)
Successfully entered lunar orbit.
Luna 23 - USSR Lunar Probe - 5,6000 kg - (October 28, 1974)
Crashed on the lunar surface.
Luna 24 - USSR Lunar Lander - 4,800 kg - (August 9, 1976)
The landing site was Mare Crisium at latitude 12°45' N and longitude 60°12' E. Samples amounting to 170 grams were returned from the moon.
Muses-A - Japan Lunar Orbiters - (January 24, 1990)
This consisted of two small orbiters but failed to send back data from their orbit around the Moon. This was the first non USA or USSR probe to reach Moon.
Galileo - USA & Europe Jupiter Orbiter/Atmospheric Probe - 2,222 kg - (October 18, 1989)
Galileo made two approaches to the Earth and Moon. The first was on December 8, 1990, and the second on December 8, 1992.
Clementine - USA Lunar Orbiter - (January 25, 1994)
The official name for Clementine is "Deep Space Probe Science Experiment" (DSPSE). It was a Department of Defense program used to test new space technology. Clementine was a new design using lightweight structure and propellant systems. It spent 70 days (between February 6 and May 5, 1994) in lunar orbit. Its four cameras mapped the surface of the Moon at 125-250 meters/pixel resolution. Clementine also used a laser to gather altimeter data which will make it possible to generate the first lunar topographic map.
Lunar Prospector - 295 kg - USA Lunar Orbiter - (January 6, 1998)
Lunar Prospector was launched on January 6, 1998 and arrived at the Moon on January 11, 1998. It is designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including the mapping of surface composition and possible ice deposits, the measuring of magnetic and gravity fields, and the study of lunar outgassing events. This data could help scientists plan a potential lunar base and develop theories of the formation of the Moon, Earth and Solar System. Its mission is scheduled to last one to three years.
SMART 1 - ESA Lunar Orbiter - 27 September 2003
The SMART-1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology 1) is a lunar orbiter designed to test spacecraft technologies for future missions such as a solar-powered ion drive. It is to return data on the geology, morphology, topography, mineralogy, geochemistry, and exospheric environment of the Moon.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - USA Lunar Orbiter - 18 June 2009
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a Moon orbiting mission launched in June 2009. The first mission of NASA's Robotic Lunar Exploration Program, it is designed to map the surface of the Moon and characterize future landing sites in terms of terrain roughness, usable resources, and radiation environment.
Reference to this article:
1.website: solarviews.com
2.website: examiner.com
3.And abstract in my mind from some daily news channels and newspapers.
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