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President Droupadi Murmu, on Friday visited an exhibition to showcase space technologies and achievements, at Bharat Mandapam, on the maiden <keyword id="22301946" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-Space-Day" source="keywords">National Space Day</keyword>. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh and <keyword id="19915124" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ISRO" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="ISRO" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="ISRO">ISRO</keyword> Chairman S Somanath were also present. <keyword id="19939985" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="President-Murmu" source="keywords">President Murmu</keyword> extended her greetings on the occasion of the first National Space Day and welcomed the decision to celebrate Space Day on the day <keyword id="19990220" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chandrayaan" source="keywords">Chandrayaan</keyword> landed on the <keyword id="19899207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="moon" source="keywords">Moon</keyword>. "It was a glorious moment for all the Indians when ISRO's Chandrayaan landed on the moon. I saw the live telecast of that moment, I was so proud that day like other Indians. To celebrate National Space Day on this occasion is a commendable step. I congratulate all of you on the first National Space Day. ISRO has achieved many feats since its inception". She also expressed her happiness with the student's participation in the event "Happy to see students' participation in this event." Highlighting the significance of <keyword id="19929542" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-exploration" source="keywords">space exploration</keyword>, she added "Space exploration has extended human's ability and help complete the imagination of humankind. Space exploration is exciting and challenging at the same time. Health, transportation, environment, energy, security and information technology are benefitted due to the growth in the <keyword id="20242397" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-sector" source="keywords">space sector</keyword>". The president termed the growth of the ISRO as extraordinary, "The growth of <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword>'s space sector is extraordinary, be it Mangalyan mission that was accomplished through minimum resources or launching more than 100 satellites at a time. we have achieved many such feats". She also praised the introduction of private players in the space sector in the country, "Introducing of the private sector in Indian has led to the formation of many <keyword id="22829456" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-start-ups" source="keywords">space start-ups</keyword> in India. This has allowed the youths of India to explore the space sector". Expressing her happiness about ISRO's plan to make <keyword id="20793131" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-mission" source="keywords">space mission</keyword> debris-free she said "I am happy that India is moving towards making India's space mission debris-free by 2030". India celebrated its first-ever National Space Day on Friday on the theme "Touching Lives While Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga". On 23 August 2023, India achieved a historic milestone when the Chandrayaan-3 lander completed a soft landing on the moon. This remarkable accomplishment made India the 4th country to accomplish this feat and the 1st to land on the lunar South Pole. In recognition of this achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared August 23 as National Space Day.

"A glorious moment for all Indians when Chandrayaan landed on moon" says President Murmu on National Space Day

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China's lunar probe returned to Earth with the first-ever samples from the moon's far side. </li><li>The samples could answer crucial questions about how planets form.</li></ul>China just took a huge leap forward in its plans to dominate space.On Tuesday, its Chang'e-6 lunar probe successfully returned to Earth carrying the first-ever samples from the moon's far side. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrFGMaB9kjo">A video showed </a>an official triumphantly planting a Chinese flag near the capsule in Mongolia after it glided back to our planet by parachute.The samples, which include 2.5 million-year-old volcanic rock, could answer crucial questions about how planets form, as well as the moon's history.But they are significant for another reason too.They signify China's growing prowess in orbit, as well as its potential to someday leapfrog the US in the race to dominate space.<h2 id="e5565559-09e3-4a5e-aba9-a6a2fdad33fa">The moon's far side</h2>The moon's far side is considered particularly challenging to explore because of its craters and the difficulty of maintaining communications with vehicles landing there.China is the only country to have landed in this tricky terrain and returned with samples. The latest mission, which launched on May 3, is China's second successful landing on the moon's far side, with the first launched in 2019.Overall, it has soft-landed on the moon four times.The US, meanwhile, has had less luck. In <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astobotic-faulty-valve-doomed-peregrine-moon-lander-lunar-mission-leak-2024-1">January</a>, Astrobiotic <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vulcan-peregrine-us-mission-first-land-moon-astrobotic-human-remains-2024-1">launched a lander</a> into space, with the aim of it being the first American spacecraft to soft land on the moon since the Apollo era.But its hopes were quickly dashed after a <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astrobotic-moon-lander-leaking-fuel-after-launch-threatening-mission-2024-1">fuel leak</a> caused a failure in the spacecraft's propellant system.In February, Intuitive Machines, in collaboration with NASA, achieved a first: landing a US commercial spacecraft <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-moon-landings-on-lunar-south-pole-crashed-2023-8">on the moon without crashing</a>.But that had complications. As previously reported by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intuitive-machines-im-1-odysseus-moon-lunar-landing-mission-nasa-2024-2">Business Insider,</a> when the spacecraft touched down on the moon, it stopped communicating with mission control.The recent moon-landing scoreboard is "4 to 0.5" in favor of China, Simone Dell'Agnello, a researcher who collaborated with Chang'e 6, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/historic-moon-mission-gets-china-one-small-step-ahead-in-space-race-41894d41">The Wall Street Journal. </a>"The first difference is that China has missions landing on the fucking moon."<h2 id="31daf330-3f01-460b-9b3b-5b7588f74167">The space race heats up</h2>China is now rivaling the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-beat-us-race-moon-lunar-lander-peregrine-fuel-leak-2024-1">US and Russia as a leading space power. </a>It has its own manned space station, Tiangong, and in 2022 became the second country after the US to land a robotic vehicle on the surface of Mars.Analysts believe that China's leader, Xi Jinping, sees huge economic and military opportunities in space. China is planning to send a crewed flight to the moon by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-beat-us-race-moon-lunar-lander-peregrine-fuel-leak-2024-1">2030 and build a base at the lunar south pole.</a>The US is gearing up for its own space exploration missions and has rival plans to land a crewed flight on the moon and build a base.The head of NASA, Bill Nelson, has said that the US and China are involved in a new "space race" and that China's research missions are being used for covert military activity.He said that China seems to be accelerating its plans to send a crewed flight to the moon."It is incumbent on us to get there first," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5115651/nasa-administrator-race-chine-south-pole-moon">told Congress in April.</a>At stake are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4783/1">water supplies scientists believe may be on the moon's far side</a>, which China could claim. These supplies would be vital for establishing a moon base or for further space exploration.Pentagon officials have warned that China is seeking to potentially disable US satellites if a war breaks out between them.China has insisted its space program is for the benefit of humanity.But it's also a race for control of economic resources and military power in the intensifying rivalry between the US and China.

China's historic moon mission is just the start of its plans to dominate space

The US space agency, <keyword id="19935155" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="nasa" source="keywords">NASA</keyword>, has pushed back its manned <keyword id="20134050" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="artemis" source="keywords">Artemis</keyword> mission to the <keyword id="19899207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="moon" source="keywords">Moon</keyword> to 2025 that will send the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface. NASA will now target September 2025 for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon, and September 2026 for Artemis III, which is planned to land the first astronauts near the lunar South Pole. Artemis IV, the first mission to the Gateway lunar space station, remains on track for 2028. The first mission, Artemis II, was supposed to take place later this year. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement that they have learned a lot since Artemis I, and the success of these early missions relies on "our commercial and international partnerships to further our reach and understanding of humanity's place in our solar system". "Artemis represents what we can accomplish as a nation - and as a global coalition. When we set our sights on what is hard, together, we can achieve what is great," he added. The space agency said that ensuring crew safety is the primary driver for the Artemis II schedule changes. "As the first Artemis flight test with crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, the mission will test critical environmental control and life support systems required to support astronauts," said NASA. NASA's investigation into unexpected loss of char layer pieces from the spacecraft's heat shield during Artemis I is expected to conclude this spring. The new timeline for Artemis III, said NASA, aligns with the updated schedule for Artemis II, which ensures the agency can incorporate lessons learned from Artemis II into the next mission, and acknowledges development challenges experienced by NASA's industry partners. "We are letting the hardware talk to us so that crew safety drives our decision-making. We will use the Artemis II flight test, and each flight that follows, to reduce risk for future Moon missions," said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA said that it has asked both Artemis human landing system providers -- SpaceX and Blue Origin -- to begin applying knowledge gained in developing their systems as part of their existing contracts toward future variations to potentially deliver large cargo on later missions. "Artemis is a long-term exploration campaign to conduct science at the Moon with astronauts and prepare for future human missions to Mars. That means we must get it right as we develop and fly our foundational systems so that we can safely carry out these missions," said Amit Kshatriya, manager of NASA's Moon to Mars Program Office.

NASA delays mission to take humans back to Moon until 2025

New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on a visit to ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Station on Tuesday, announced the names of four astronauts who have been chosen for <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword>'s historic <keyword id="19945102" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gaganyaan" source="keywords">Gaganyaan</keyword> mission. The selected astronauts are currently going through intense training for country's first human space flight mission, slated for 2025. The four astronauts, selected for the Gaganyaan mission are Group Captain <keyword id="20747034" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prasanth-balakrishnan-nair" source="keywords">Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair</keyword>, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander <keyword id="20747033" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shubhanshu-shukla" source="keywords">Shubhanshu Shukla</keyword>. While announcing names of the four astronauts, PM Modi expressed happiness and said that they will bring new glory to nation's space exploration programs. Notably, Gaganyaan would be India's first human space mission. All-out preparations are underway at ISRO for the project. Gagayaan would add another feat to India's successful space exploration programs. In previous display of space prowess, India became the only nation last year to make successful landing of Chandrayaan on the South Pole of the <keyword id="19899207" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="moon" source="keywords">Moon</keyword>. By 2035, ISRO plans to set up own 'Bharatiya Antariksha Station' and has also prepared a timeline to send first Indian to the Moon by 2040.

Meet the four astronauts who will steer India's Gaganyaan mission

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Axiom Space partnered with Prada to develop a spacesuit.</li><li>The spacesuit is being designed for NASA's Artemis III mission.</li></ul>The next time an astronaut walks on the moon, it could be in style.<a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/axiom-space-x-launch-first-ever-private-astronaut-mission-iss-2022-4">Axiom Space</a> unveiled a Prada-designed spacesuit on Wednesday at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, where Prada is headquartered.The Prada suit is intended for use on NASA's Artemis III <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-shrinking-nasa-lunar-missions-artemis-threatened-2024-2">mission to the moon</a>, which, if successful, would be the first crewed landing on the moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.Axiom Space, a Houston-based company cofounded by former NASA employee Michael Suffredini, first <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-prada-luxury-fashion-brand-design-new-spacesuits-astronauts-2023-10">announced its collaboration</a> with the Italian luxury fashion group in October 2023.The spacesuit is officially called the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU). It's a long way from the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacesuit-design-history-timeline-changes-nasa-2018-3#mercury-suit-1961-1963-1">first NASA spacesuits</a> that Mercury astronauts wore in the early '60s.<div type="image" title="Axiom and Prada spacesuits for NASA Artemis III mission" height="6000" width="4000" msid="114294274" hostid="261" sizebytes="463652"></div>"Our elite teams have redefined spacesuit development, establishing new pathways to innovative solutions and applying a state-of-the-art design approach for the AxEMU," Matt Ondler, president of Axiom Space, said in a press release. "We have broken the mold. The Axiom Space-Prada partnership has set a new foundational model for cross-industry collaboration, further expanding what's possible in commercial space."The press release said Prada's design and product development team worked alongside Axiom Space engineers to create a spacesuit that could withstand the moon's environment, including <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-dust-is-toxic-2012-7">lunar dust</a>, which can damage human lungs if inhaled, and extreme temperatures."Prada's expertise enabled advanced technologies and innovative sewing methods to bridge the gap between highly engineered functionality and an aesthetically appealing white outer layer, providing astronauts with an increased level of comfort while improving the materials' performance," the press release said.The spacesuit would allow astronauts to perform spacewalks for at least eight hours.<div type="image" title="Axiom Space and Prada design for a spacesuit for NASA Artemis III mission." height="2160" width="3840" msid="114294276" hostid="261" sizebytes="517104"></div>"It includes advanced coatings on the helmet and visor to enhance the astronauts' view of their surroundings, as well as custom gloves made in-house featuring several advancements over the gloves used today," the press release said. "The spacesuit architecture includes life support systems, pressure garments, avionics, and other innovative systems to meet exploration needs and expand scientific opportunities."Axiom Space said it worked to improve the spacesuit over the past two years for the Artemis III mission, and it's nearing the final development stage.Russell Ralston, executive vice president of extravehicular activity at Axiom Space, told Business Insider that the "critical design review" stage will begin in 2025."Once the AxEMU spacesuit is through NASA's CDR and qualification testing, the spacesuit will be ready for the Artemis III mission," he said in a statement.Representatives for Prada did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.<h2 id="8af3ebaa-ce92-435e-9490-b0c0c5312f7a">NASA's Artemis III mission could be the first time a woman and a person of color walks on the moon</h2>The Prada spacesuits are being developed for Artemis III, which is scheduled for no earlier than September 2026, according to NASA."Over the course of about 30 days, the Artemis III astronauts will travel to lunar orbit, where two crew members will descend to the surface and spend approximately a week near the South Pole of the Moon conducting new science before returning to lunar orbit to join their crew for the journey back to Earth," the agency says.The mission could also be the first time a woman and a person of color walk on the moon.Artemis III will follow <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-artemis-missions-first-black-astronaut-woman-canadian-to-moon-2023-4">NASA's Artemis II</a>, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than September 2025. The Artemis II mission could also make history by having the first woman, Black astronaut, and Canadian fly around the moon with NASA.Artemis II astronauts will "confirm all of the spacecraft's systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space," according to NASA.

The next time an astronaut steps foot on the moon, it could be in a Prada spacesuit. See the design.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The second moon that Earth has captured in its orbit this month is an asteroid called 2024 PT5.</li><li>Mini-moons like this could be ideal targets for asteroid mining to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-havent-we-been-to-mars-yet-2024-5">send humans deeper into space</a>.</li></ul>The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/second-moon-orbiting-earth-when-why-what-to-know-2024-9 ">second moon that Earth now has for two months</a> may seem like just a fun curiosity, but it's also a sneak peek at a future space industry that could change our global economy.An asteroid called 2024 PT5, which normally orbits the sun as part of the Arjuna asteroid belt, was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/astronomers-photograph-mini-moon-small-object-in-orbit-2020-2">captured in Earth's orbit</a> on Sunday, according to astronomers' projections. Astronomers expect it to spend about 57 days traveling along a horseshoe-shaped path around Earth before rejoining its asteroid belt.For those 57 days, the school-bus-sized <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-asteroid-impact-simulation-experts-fear-congress-would-delay-action-2024-6">asteroid</a> will be a "natural satellite" of Earth — basically another, temporary moon.<div type="image" title="screenshot of asteroid profile page showing illustration of a bumpy candy-corn-shaped grey asteroid in space with a text box labeling it 2024 PT5 and saying its average estimated diameter is 10.76 m" height="1537" width="2864" msid="113817839" hostid="261" sizebytes="68552"></div>That makes it economically intriguing. "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fake-moon-asteroid-orbiting-sun-alongside-earth-astronomers-discover-2023-6">Mini-moons</a>" like this are ideal targets for mining, according to Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, one of the scientists who charted 2024 PT5's path around our planet.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asteroid-mining-company-earth-startups-raw-materials-cobalt-gold-platinum-2021-3">Asteroid mining</a> could someday help humans travel further out into the cosmos and extend our presence through the solar system. That's because some asteroids contain valuable metals like iron or platinum, as well as water.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-plan-colonize-mars-plan-unrealistic-scientists-explain-2023-10">Elon Musk's vision of a city on Mars</a>, for example, depends on asteroid mining. Temporary moons like 2024 PT5 could be a key stepping stone."Mini-moons are very important for the nascent global <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-helping-private-companies-build-business-moon-make-lunar-billions-2023-6">space economy</a>," Marcos told Business Insider in an email. Because they come so close to Earth and take a sojourn in our orbit, he added, "they are among the objects easier to reach using low-cost missions."<h2 id="462c4c69-18b1-4a3f-8e7d-7cb0491d6b39">Asteroids can be worth quintillions</h2>Asteroid 2024 PT5 may not be worth much, since scientists think it's made of basalt.It's basically "a giant boulder," Teddy Kareta, a planetary scientist at the Lowell Observatory, told Business Insider.But some asteroids contain so much metal that they're <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-visit-psyche-asteroid-worth-more-than-entire-world-economy-2023-10">worth more than our entire global economy</a>.Take Psyche, for example, an asteroid that NASA is sending a spacecraft to for scientific study, since the agency believes it to be the core of a long-dead planet.Psyche's metal-rich makeup — mostly iron and nickel — makes it worth an estimated $100 quintillion if it were here on Earth.<div type="image" title="graphic of what the asteroid is thought to look like" height="900" width="1600" msid="113817842" hostid="261" sizebytes="175866"></div>Some asteroids even have precious metals like platinum, gold, and cobalt.Nobody has mined an asteroid yet, though <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-video-osiris-rex-probe-landing-on-asteroid-kicking-dust-2020-10">NASA punched one</a> in 2020 to grab scientific samples from it.Some startups are trying to figure out how to start mining space rocks, and do it in a cost-effective way. Flying to an asteroid isn't cheap.One of them, called <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/asteroid-mining-startup-has-booked-its-first-test-mission-spacex-2022-6">AstroForge, has launched a small probe with SpaceX</a>, though the spacecraft wasn't able to conduct the testing they'd planned, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.space.com/asteroid-mining-astroforge-docking-mission-2025">Space.com</a>. The company is now planning two more missions, which it hopes will culminate in its first landing on a metallic asteroid in 2025.<h2 id="e5b0dd4a-bb61-4c4d-a49c-2d9e9a2960a9">Pit stops on the way to Mars</h2>Long-distance <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-invest-mars-pulsed-plasma-rocket-shorten-space-time-travel-2024-7">deep-space missions</a>, especially if they're carrying humans and cargo, will have a fuel problem.Fuel is heavy, so the less of it you have to load onto a spacecraft the better. On the long flight to Mars or other planets, asteroids could become gas stations.That's because <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/article/506/1/L6/6298231?login=false">research</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018JE005584">suggests</a> that many asteroids in Earth's neighborhood are rich in water, which can be mined and split into its elementary components — hydrogen and oxygen, both of which are critical for making rocket fuel.Mini-moons are perfect places to start, some scientists think, because of their proximity to Earth but also because of how small they are.It takes an immense amount of rocket fuel to escape Earth's powerful gravitational pull. But little asteroids don't have much gravity, making it easy to leapfrog off of them."It only takes a puff of fuel to leave the mini-moon and head back towards Earth," Richard Binzel, a planetary scientist at MIT, previously told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/undiscovered-minimoons-may-orbit-earth-could-they-help-us-become-an-interplanetary-species">Live Science</a>.<h2 id="bf8bc193-7a0a-4a09-9d9c-2c6ac7e8d411">Mini-moon missions at the ready</h2>One problem with mini-moons is that scientists sometimes don't see them coming until a few weeks before they're captured in our planet's orbit.Asteroid 2024 PT5, for example, was first identified as a mini-moon in early September and will only be in Earth's orbit for about 57 days.That's a tight timeline for preparing and launching a mining mission. For any asteroid, "you need to learn enough about it to know whether it's worth sending a rocket up," Kareta said.Asteroid-mining companies can work around that by having mining spacecraft ready in Earth's orbit, waiting for the right space rock to zoom by, Marcos said."Either if you are thinking about collecting mineral samples for research or starting a space mining venture, mini-moons are your best bet to get your business off the ground," he said.

Mini-moons like the one Earth just captured could be huge business opportunities

<ul class="summary-list"><li>NASA launched Europa Clipper to see if <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oxygen-europa-life-surface-ocean-subsurface-earth-juno-mission-jupiter-2024-3">Jupiter's moon Europa</a> could host alien life.</li><li>Scientists think Europa contains a vast saltwater ocean deep beneath its surface.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nasa-could-tell-us-aliens-are-real-2023-2">NASA is serious about searching for alien life</a>, even within our own solar system.On Monday, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the agency launched a spacecraft toward Europa, a moon of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jupiter-images-webb-sees-rings-moons-hubble-cant-2022-8">Jupiter</a>.Scientists believe Europa contains a vast saltwater ocean deep beneath its icy crust, with twice as much water as Earth. It's perhaps the most promising place in our solar system for active <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-asks-help-retrieving-perseverance-mars-samples-alien-life-2024-4">extraterrestrial life</a>.<div type="image" title="Europa" height="1700" width="2300" msid="114225773" hostid="261" sizebytes="181080"></div>The NASA mission, called Europa Clipper, aims to figure out whether <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-lava-from-moon-volcanoes-creates-jupiters-powerful-aurora-lights-2022-2">the Jupiter moon</a> and its ocean could support life. It's the largest interplanetary spacecraft NASA has ever built. The probe is about 16 feet tall and, when its vast wings of solar arrays are deployed, 100 feet wide. It weighs three-and-a-half tons.Clipper is undertaking the first targeted exploration of an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-underwater-rover-hunt-alien-life-on-ocean-worlds-2019-11">ocean world</a> beyond our planet.Even if there is no life on Europa, this mission is crucial in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-no-contact-with-aliens-2019-9">search for alien life</a>, since ocean worlds across the galaxy are prime candidates for life.Missions like Europa Clipper are "modern cathedrals" and "generational quests," said Laurie Leshin, the director of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-mars-helicopter-pilot-what-job-is-like-advice-2023-1">NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory</a>, which built the spacecraft.<div type="image" title="giant spacecraft folded up between red Airbus panels with a large round foil-covered piece on the front with technicians in blue clean suits standing nearby in a giant white clearnroom" height="1280" width="1920" msid="114225774" hostid="261" sizebytes="132976"></div>"We scientists have been dreaming about a mission like Europa Clipper for more than 20 years. We've been working to build it for 10 years," she added in a briefing about the mission in September. "It's going to be another 10 years, because <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-animation-planetary-scientist-huge-solar-system-2019-11">Jupiter's so far away</a>, until we have all the science in the bag."The spacecraft must travel 1.8 billion miles to get to Jupiter, getting a boost from Mars's gravity along the way. It's scheduled to arrive in April 2030.<h2 id="ccd765aa-2885-424c-ab06-309d5a9fdb77">A 7-body problem and unfathomable radiation</h2>Life exists without sunlight at the bottom of the ocean here on Earth. All it needs is an energy source, like hydrothermal vents which release heat from deep within the planet, and organic molecules containing essential elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen.Europa Clipper is carrying nine scientific instruments to look for the fingerprints of those molecules, measure the salinity and depth of the underground ocean, and take photos of Europa down to one meter of resolution, among other things.<div type="image" title="illustration of a spacecraft with long wings of solar panels above a white moon covered in crisis crossed brown lines with jupiter in the distant background in space" height="1121" width="1995" msid="114225771" hostid="261" sizebytes="107104"></div>"Clipper is not actually going to look for life itself, but it's going to characterize the habitability of Europa," Gina DiBraccio, the acting director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said in the briefing.The mission is designed to orbit Jupiter and fly past Europa 49 times, each time soaring over a different area to eventually cover almost the entire moon, pole to pole. The spacecraft will skim as close as 16 miles above Europa's surface.The mission plan is a marvel of engineering. Rather than a three-body problem, falling into orbit around Jupiter is a "seven-body problem" because of the planet's large moons, Jordan Evans, the mission's project manager, said in the briefing.During each flyby, Clipper will bathe in radiation from Jupiter that's equivalent to "a few million chest X-rays," Evans added.It might even find out if Europa's ice really <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-jupiter-oceanic-moon-europa-radioactive-glow-2020-11">glows in the dark from that radiation</a>, as NASA research has previously indicated.

NASA launches a probe to find out if there really could be alien life on Jupiter's moon Europa

​10 missions before Chandrayaan-3 that define mankind’s quest to explore the moon ​

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Scientists have known for years that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-moon-is-shrinking-like-raisin-producing-moonquakes-2019-5">moon is shriveling</a> like a grape, causing moonquakes.</li><li>A new study said moonquakes in the south pole could put astronauts at risk from landslides.</li></ul>NASA has known for years that the moon is shrinking. In 2019, for example, scientists estimated the moon had contracted by about 150 feet over the last several hundred million years.The moon's interior is cooling, and its brittle crust is cracking, creating "thrust faults" where one piece slides over another, which can trigger <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indias-moon-lander-detects-signs-of-possible-moonquake-2023-9">moonquakes</a>.That was all common knowledge in the scientific community at least five years ago.However, a new study published in the peer-reviewed <a target="_blank" href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ad1332">Planetary Science Journal</a> shows some of these faults are near potential landing sites for NASA's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-launching-artemis-mega-rocket-orion-spaceship-around-the-moon-2022-8">Artemis III</a> mission and could be an issue for long-term lunar settlements.<h2>Danger at the lunar south pole</h2>Artemis III plans to land astronauts near the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-missions-why-astronauts-have-not-returned-2018-7">moon's south pole</a>, which contains water ice, among other vital resources. It would be the first time a human has set foot on the lunar surface since 1972.Even small tremors at the moon's south pole could trigger landslides, according to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nasa.gov/earth/moon/shrinking-moon-causing-moonquakes-and-faults-near-lunar-south-pole/">NASA press release</a>, which may be dangerous to astronauts.That said, "short-term missions like Artemis III are not likely a risk because strong shallow moonquakes are infrequent," Tom Watters, lead author of the paper, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsweek.com/moon-shrinking-moonquakes-danger-lunar-missions-nasa-1864336">told Newsweek</a>.The bigger risk is to long-term settlements like those that NASA envisions to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-artemis-humans-to-live-moon-by-2030-says-official-2022-11">happen by 2030</a>."We're going to be sending people down to the surface and they're going to be living on that surface and doing science," the lead of NASA's Orion lunar spacecraft program, told the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63688229">BBC in 2022</a>.As the moon continues to slowly shrink, it will lead to new thrust faults and this "should be considered when planning the location and stability of permanent outposts on the moon," Watters said in a recent statement.<h2>Moonquakes can seem stronger than earthquakes</h2>Watters and other researchers created a model that predicts moonquakes could cause landslides along the walls of the region's Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole.Asteroids and comets have also broken up the lunar surface, Nicholas Schmerr, a co-author on the study, <a target="_blank" href="https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/news/Nicholas-Schmerr-moon-shrinking-causing-landslides-and-instability-lunar-south-pole">said in a statement</a>."Loose sediments make it very possible for shaking and landslides to occur," he said.<div type="image" title="apollo astronaut moon 1971" height="3025" width="4096" msid="107338487" hostid="261" sizebytes="1122390"></div>The researchers believe slipping thrust faults triggered a series of moonquakes between 1969 and 1977. During their missions, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apollo-astronauts-50th-moon-landing-anniversary-photos-2019-4">Apollo astronauts</a> placed seismometers on the moon that detected the quakes.While these seismic events were relatively mild — the largest was a magnitude 5.0 — by Earth's standards, the moon's lack of gravity makes them seem worse, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/31/world/moon-shrinking-moonquakes-south-pole-scn/index.html">Watters told CNN.</a>"That kind of shaking can really start throwing things around in a low G environment," he said.<h2>NASA's moon landings are already in jeopardy</h2><div type="image" title="illustration shows spaceship with solar panel wings flying past the far side of the moon with earth in the distance" height="1080" width="1440" msid="107338488" hostid="261" sizebytes="94360"></div>In January, NASA announced it had <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-moon-flight-landing-delay-pushed-back-2024-1">pushed back</a> its mission to orbit the moon, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-artemis-missions-first-black-astronaut-woman-canadian-to-moon-2023-4">Artemis II</a>, from late 2024 to September 2025.The agency made the decision after the private space company Astrobotic's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vulcan-peregrine-us-mission-first-land-moon-astrobotic-human-remains-2024-1">Peregrine lunar lander</a> had to abandon its moon mission due to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peregrine-lunar-lander-no-chance-land-moon-fuel-leak-2024-1">fuel leak</a> shortly after launching from Earth.The setback will likely also delay NASA's later missions and the agency's aspirations to build a permanent base at the moon's south pole. So, at least for now, NASA has more pressing matters to concern itself with than moonquakes and lunar landslides.

Yes, the moon is shrinking but that's not the disturbing news scientists discovered that could threaten future NASA missions

<ul class="summary-list"><li>NASA has canceled its VIPER moon rover project.</li><li>NASA will still send a spacecraft to the moon and pay a company $323 million for the trip.</li></ul>NASA is scrapping a moon rover it spent $450 million to construct, and axing the machine's mission to find water on the moon. The agency discontinued the development of VIPER — or Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover — because it proved exceedingly expensive.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-ends-viper-project-continues-moon-exploration/#:~:text=Following%20a%20comprehensive%20internal%20review,stand%20down%20on%20the%20mission.">NASA's statement on Wednesday</a> said that the rover was to be scrapped because of "cost increases, delays to the launch date, and the risks of future cost growth."It also said that continuing the rover project would result in an "increased cost that threatens cancellation or disruption" to other lunar research missions.The rover, a car-sized robot that was supposed to explore the south side of the moon in search of "ice and other potential resources," has already been built, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/17/science/nasa-viper-moon-rover-canceled.html">The New York Times reported</a>.However, tests to ensure that it could survive the shaking of the spacecraft and the environment of space have not yet been conducted.According to the Times, the agency would save at least $84 million by not conducting the testing and not having to operate the rover on the moon.VIPER's launch, which was scheduled for fall 2025, had already been delayed multiple times.It was initially set to launch in late 2023. However, that launch was delayed to 2024 to allow more time to test the privately commissioned spacecraft Griffin, which was supposed to carry the rover to the moon.Although the rover itself has been scrapped, the Griffin Lander will continue with its journey. And NASA will still pay the company that built the spacecraft — the Astrobotic Technology Inc. of Pittsburgh — $323 million for the task, per the Times.Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in the science directorate, told The Times that Griffin's landing would still be valuable even without the rover on board. NASA maintains that it is "committed to studying and exploring the Moon for the benefit of humanity.""The agency has an array of missions planned to look for ice and other resources on the Moon over the next five years," Nicola Fox, an associate administrator in the agency's science mission directorate, said in a statement.The statement also added that any US industry and international companies that wish to use VIPER before it is disassembled could contact the agency after July 18.News of the rover's scrapping comes as two NASA astronauts <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-boeing-starliner-good-feeling-be-back-safe-2024-7">remain stuck in space</a> after issues were detected with the spacecraft they went up in — the Boeing Starliner.The duo — Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — arrived at the International Space Station via the Boeing Starliner on June 6 after a series of delays that postponed the craft's launch by a month.While they were supposed to stay for only eight to 10 days, they have been stuck on the space station for over a month now, with no return date scheduled.Representatives for NASA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

You Searched For "Moon Mission" and got 10 results

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You Searched For "Moon Mission" and got 10 results

"A glorious moment for all Indians when Chandrayaan landed on moon" says President Murmu on National Space Day

ANI

China's historic moon mission is just the start of its plans to dominate space

Tom Porter

NASA delays mission to take humans back to Moon until 2025

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The next time an astronaut steps foot on the moon, it could be in a Prada spacesuit. See the design.

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​10 missions before Chandrayaan-3 that define mankind’s quest to explore the moon ​

Anagh Pal

Yes, the moon is shrinking but that's not the disturbing news scientists discovered that could threaten future NASA missions

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NASA is scrapping a moon rover that it spent $450 million to build

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10 missions before Chandrayaan-3 that define mankind’s quest to explore the moon