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Japan: The Fifth Country to Land on The Moon

Mitali k

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”.

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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

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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.

 

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

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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

India’s Maiden Mission To Venus

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The Indian Space Research Organisation is preparing for its first mission to Venus, known as the Venus Orbiter Mission (“VOM”) or Shukrayaan-1. The Indian space agency has announced that the spacecraft will take a total of 112 days to travel to Venus and is scheduled to launch in March, 2028.

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

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Shukrayaan-1 will mark India’s first foray into exploring the planet. The orbiter is expected to reach its destination in July, 2028. VOM will study the atmosphere, surface, and geological features of Venus using many sophisticated scientific instruments.

Also Read India Scripts Lunar History

Chandrayaan-3: Discovers Ancient Crater On The Moon

Mitali k

Chandrayaan-3 mission continues to make groundbreaking discoveries after its successful mission ended on the Moon in 2023. The data sent back by the Pragyan rover from the Moon’s south polar region has now led to the discovery of an ancient crater. 

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

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The Pragyan rover has discovered an ancient, 160-kilometre-wide buried crater near its landing site. The findings have been published in the latest issue of Science Direct by scientists from the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. Images clicked by the Pragyan rover’s navigation and optical high-resolution cameras have shown the structure of this ancient crater, offering important clues about the Moon’s geological history.

Also Read India Scripts Lunar History

Earth Gets A Second Mini Moon

Mitali k

The Moon has a temporary junior companion and Earth has a second mini moon for a short time! A small asteroid was captured by the Earth’s gravity on September 29 and will orbit our planet until November 25, 2024.

 

Also Read Female Astronauts Fly Further Than Ever Before

 

This asteroid called 2024 PT5, was spotted on August 7 by scientists using the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System, a NASA-funded asteroid impact early warning system. 

 

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Even though 2024 PT5 will act like a mini-moon, we will not be able to see it because it is very small. This mini moon is only 10m wide. During its short 53 days tenure around the Earth, 2024 PT5 will not be able to make a full orbit, instead it will  perform a horseshoe loop before breaking away from the Earth’s gravitational pull.

 

Watch Full Video On #IndiaOnMoon : Over the Moon – Chandrayaan -3

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