What's Up? The Space Place

Hey Space Placers! India successfully launched its second mission to the Moon,   Chandrayaan-2, early this morning, July 22nd. The mission is headed to the lunar South Pole   and consists of an orbiter, lander and rover. It will take about 4 weeks to get to the Moon. This will be India's first attempt to land on the Moon which has been accomplished by the US, USSR and China. It will be the first mission to the lunar South Pole region. Currently the US has Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) active in lunar orbit since 2009 and China currently has Chang'e 4 and rover Yutu 2 active on the far side of the Moon. China plans for a launch of Chang'e 5, a lunar sample return mission perhaps late this year. The US may have unmanned missions to the Moon using commercial landers later next year. Further exploration of the Moon is well underway with perhaps the best to come in the near future if the US Congress gives NASA the funding to land astron...

Hey Space Placers! India's  Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced the July launch window for its next mission to the Moon -  Chandrayaan-2 - which will include an orbiter and India’s first soft lander and rover. An artist’s rendition of the Vikram lander on the lunar surface. (Image credit: ISRO The mission is scheduled to launch on July 15 at 2:51 a.m. India Standard Time which is July 14, 5:21 p.m. EDT. This is just two days before Apollo 11 launched. Touchdown is scheduled for September 6 at -71 S latitude making this the farthest south lander ever. If successful India will become the fourth country to soft land on the Moon - US, USSR, China have done so so far. The landing area is also where Russia plans to land Luna 24 at some point in the future. The Moon beckons..... Sky Guy in VA

Hey Space Placers! Here is an NBC News story on India's next Moon mission ,  Chandrayaan-2 . It is scheduled for launch between July 9 and 16. The lander and rover are  scheduled to land near the South Pole, a very interesting region of the Moon that has never been explored by a lander/rover. It is known to harbor frozen water ice in a likely mix with the lunar soil in permanently shadowed craters. India's first lunar mission,  Chandrayaan-1  was very successful. Let's hope  Chandrayaan-2 is as well. Sky Guy in VA