cross pond high tech
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Chandrayaan-2: Vikram's orbit reduced, gets closer to landing

Chandrayaan-2: Vikram's orbit reduced, gets closer to landing | cross pond high tech | Scoop.it

Operating independently for the first time since Chandrayaan-2was launched on July 22, Vikram, the lander, underwent its first manoeuvre around Moon.
Isro successfully completed the first de-orbiting manoeuvre at 8.50 am Tuesday, using for the first time, the propulsion systems on Vikram. All these days all operations were carried out by systems on the orbiter, from which Vikram, carrying Pragyan (rover) inside it, separated from on Monday.
"The duration of the maneuver was 4 seconds. The orbit of Vikram is 104kmX128 km, the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter continues to orbit Moon in the existing orbit and both the orbiter and lander are healthy," Isro said.

The next de-orbiting maneuver is scheduled on September 04 between 3.30 am and 4.30 am.
As reported by TOI, the landing module (Vikram and Pragyan) successfully separated from the orbiter at 1.15 pm Monday (September 2), pushing India's Chandrayaan-2 mission into the last and most crucial leg: Moon landing.
"The operation was great in the sense that we were able to separate the lander and rover from the orbiter—It is the first time in the history of Isro that we've separated two modules in space. This was very critical and we did it very meticulously," Isro chairman K Sivan told TOI soon after the separation.

Philippe J DEWOST's insight:

From M3 to M4 ? India gets closer to join the club of Moon countries, after Israël missed the last step of its application. Meanwhile Europe is still reviewing its application form.

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SpaceIL plans second private Moon lander despite crash

SpaceIL plans second private Moon lander despite crash | cross pond high tech | Scoop.it

SpaceIL's first attempt at a private Moon landing didn't go according to plan. However, that isn't deterring the team from giving it another shot. Founder Morris Khan has announced that the team will build another Beresheet lander and "complete the mission." The task force behind the new lander will start its work "first thing" on April 14th, he said.

Philippe J DEWOST's insight:

Landing Beresheet on the Moon was so much worth a try that is looks worth even a second.

Especially when you realize how SpaceIL managed to trim down the cost of such a mission under $100M, launch included.

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