Nov 14 2008
From The Space Library
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that its lunar orbiter craft, Chandrayaan 1, had dropped a Moon Impact Probe to the lunar surface. The 64-pound (29.03-kilogram) probe, which measured 14.70 inches (37.34 centimeters) by 14.7 inches (37.34 centimeters) by 18.5 inches (46.99 centimeters), landed on the Moon at 10:01 (EST). The probe’s mission was to test soft-landing technologies and to observe the lunar surface. It carried a mass spectrometer to study the lunar atmosphere, a radar altimeter to measure the probe’s altitude, and a video imaging system to photograph the descent. Chandrayaan 1, a US$80 million mission, had launched on 22 October 2008, joining China, Europe, Japan, Russia, and the United States as the only nations that had sent missions to the Moon.
Space.com, “India Slams Probe into the Moon,” 14 November 2008, http://www.space.com/6113-india-slams- probe-moon.html (accessed 25 August 2011); Associated Press, “India’s First Lunar Probe Lands on the Moon,” 15 November 2008.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
