William Atkins
Wednesday, 25 February 2009 20:43
Science -
Space
Page 3 of 4
Read more information about the currently active unmanned
Chandrayaan I mission to the Moon in iTWire’s October 23, 2008 article “
Chandrayaan-1 on its way to the Moon” and November 6, 2008 article “
India's Chandrayaan-1 heads for the Moon.”
The spacecraft is currently orbiting about the Moon conducting primarily a mapping mission of the lunar surface.
India is in a space race with China and Japan, whether publicly stated or not. Both Asian countries are gearing their space programs to land astronauts on the Moon within the next ten years or so.
China, through its China National Space Administration (
CNSA ), launched its unmanned
Chang'e 1 (“Orbiting-1”) spacecraft on October 24, 2007, for a mission to the Moon.
Read more about the
Chang-e 1 mission on the October 23, 2007 iTWire article “
China ready for launch of first lunar spacecraft: Chang’e 1.”
Chang’e 1 entered lunar orbit on November 5, 2007, with a mission to map the lunar surface, along with study its chemical elements and soil composition.
Chang’e 1 produced a comprehensive three-dimensional map of the lunar surface, which was announced to the public on November 12, 2008.
Page three talks about Japanese space efforts, and what it means to have all of these plans to get to the Moon.
