Human missions
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6 years ago
Where We Are on 1 October 2019
Planetary.orgWe lost and gained spacecraft at the Moon last quarter. India’s Chandrayaan-2 left Earth orbit for the Moon on 13 August, and its Vikram lander aims at a 7 September touchdown. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter just celebrated its tenth launch anniversary. China’s smallsat Longjiang-2 crashed on 31 July, ending its successful mission.
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6 years ago
Is a $2 Billion Prize for Landing on the Moon a Good Idea?
Planetary.orgThough prize incentives can be useful for certain problems, huge cash payouts for human spaceflight are not good policy.
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6 years ago
Chandrayaan-2 Enters Lunar Orbit
Planetary.orgThe combination lander, rover, and orbiter fired its main engine to enter orbit around the Moon at 09:02 IST (03:32 UTC) on 20 August.
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6 years ago
Chandrayaan-2 Headed for Lunar Orbit
Planetary.orgAt 02:21 IST (20:51 UTC), the spacecraft fired its main engine, changing its orbit to intersect with the Moon.
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6 years ago
Lunar Orbiter Longjiang-2 Smashes into Moon
Planetary.orgDon’t worry, this was a planned end for a tiny satellite that has been a huge success.
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6 years ago
Chandrayaan-2 Launches for the Moon
Planetary.orgLiftoff atop the country’s GSLV Mk III rocket occurred on 22 July at 14:43 IST (09:13 UTC).
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6 years ago
Planetary Society-funded Technology Picked by NASA for Possible Moon Flight
Planetary.orgPlanetVac, a technology that simplifies the process of collecting samples from other worlds, may fly to the Moon.
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6 years ago
What to Expect when Chandrayaan-2 Launches to and Lands on the Moon
Planetary.orgLiftoff is scheduled for 14 July 2019 at 21:21 UTC (15 July 2019 at 02:51 IST local time), atop a GSLV-MKIII rocket from India.
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6 years ago
What to Expect when Chandrayaan-2 Launches to and Lands on the Moon
Planetary.orgA preview guide for India's upcoming Moon mission.
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6 years ago
Where We Are
Planetary.orgThe last quarter has seen few changes in the roster of planetary exploration spacecraft. SpaceIL’s lunar lander Beresheet is now on the lunar surface. Its descent on 11 April seemed to go nearly perfectly. Unfortunately, a cascade of events shortly before its planned landing caused it to hit the ground too fast, and it did not survive.
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