The Junior Age

Menu

Category: Space News

Chang’e-6: First Moon Mission to Collect Rocks from the Far side of the Moon and Land Back on Earth

admin

China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe has safely landed on Earth after a two-month journey to the far side of the Moon and back. The unmanned spacecraft touched down in the Inner Mongolia desert on June 25. It contains some very rare rock and soil samples that were collected after Chang’e-6 landed on the unexplored far side of the Moon. 

According to the China National Space Administration, Chang’e-6 used a computer system to check for any obstacles that would be in the way of landing, before touching down on the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin. This is a crater on the side of the Moon that always faces away from Earth, an area that’s hard to reach because it’s really far away and doesn’t have many flat surfaces that are easy to land on. It’s hoped that the Moon rocks will allow scientists to uncover more secrets about how planets are formed.

The First Indian Space Tourist: Gopi Thotakura

admin

US based Gopi Thotakura made history as he became the first Indian space tourist! Indian born and commercial pilot Gopichand Thotakura took off on May 19 and reached the edge of space on a Blue Origin spacecraft, along with five other crew members. The whole journey, from take off to landing lasted only about ten minutes, during which the spacecraft attained a maximum height of about 105km from the Earth. 

The passengers got to experience weightlessness for a few minutes and observe the Earth from a height. One of the passengers on this Blue Origin spacecraft made history by becoming the oldest person to travel to space. American citizen, Ed Dwight, who is 90, described the experience as “life changing”.

What is Blue Origin?

Blue Origin is the space tourism project by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos.

Word Check

Space tourism is the term for people paying to go for a trip to space.

First Privately Owned Spacecraft Lands on the Moon

admin

A privately owned spacecraft, named Odysseus, landed on the Moon on February 22. This spacecraft built and flown by a US based company, Intuitive Machines, landed near the south pole of the Moon. This is also the first US spacecraft that has landed on the lunar surface in more than 50 years. It’s also the first time that a lunar landing has been achieved by a company, rather than a government organisation like ISRO or NASA.

Watch Full Video on #IndiaOnMoon : Over the Moon – Chandrayaan -3, India’s Successful Lunar Mission

Also Read India Scripts Lunar History

npr.org

Odysseus was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft will be carrying out some important experiments for NASA. This mission was unmanned – which means no humans went into space with it. However, it’s hoped Odysseus will help astronauts prepare to send humans to the Moon in the future. The landing location is especially important for scientists. It’s one of the locations that NASA is considering for its mission to send humans back to the Moon.

Get Know everything about Space, Buy This All About Space Flash Cards

Japan: The Fifth Country to Land on The Moon

admin

Japan has become the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon – and it may have been the most precise Moon landing ever. The robotic explorer called SLIM (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) landed near the Moon’s Shioli crater at the equator on January 20. SLIM successfully released two tiny robotic probes to investigate the Moon’s surface when it landed. The Moon lander has woken up after being shut down for a week because of a power issue. A change in lighting conditions meant that the lander has been able to catch some Sun rays and has recharged enough to make contact with the team on Earth.

Watch Full Video on #IndiaOnMoon : Over the Moon – Chandrayaan -3, India’s Successful Lunar Mission

SLIM sent back a lot of important data during landing. SLIM will search for the Moon’s mantle for a mineral called olivine. They want to compare Moon’s olivine with that found on Earth. The project manager of the mission said that “It may offer new evidence to support the theory that the moon was part of the Earth a long time ago”.

Subscribe To The Junior Age Click here.

Image : liveindia

Did You Know?

The SLIM mission is also called “Moon Sniper” for its use of precision-landing technologies!

Also Read India Scripts Lunar History

The ‘Mini Moon’ Has Disappeared

admin

As previously reported, an asteroid nicknamed as the Earth’s ‘mini moon’ was flying close to the planet for several months. However, it has now disappeared into space. The small 10m wide asteroid, also known as 2024 PT5, was first spotted in August. This asteroid never fully entered the Earth’s orbit, but flew round the Earth in a horse shoe shape.

 

Get Know everything about Space, Buy This All About Space Flash Cards

 

Watch Full Video on #IndiaOnMoon : Over the Moon – Chandrayaan -3, India’s Successful Lunar Mission

usatoday.com

Subscribe To The Junior Age Click here.

Scientists think that this asteroid could even be a part of the Moon that broke off during a collision. According to scientists, it is moved away from the Earth due to the Sun’s strong gravitational pull. The mini moon is expected to make a brief and closer pass in January 2025, before it fully disappears again for a lap around the sun. It is expected to reappear in 2055!

Also Read India Scripts Lunar History

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
Open chat
Powered by Joinchat
Hello 👋
Can we help you?