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<ul><li>The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated that the <keyword id="116095" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword> (ISRO) has ‘inspired’ them with <keyword id="414120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chandrayaan-2">Chandrayaan 2</keyword>. </li><li>NASA also said that it looks forward to future missions with ISRO. </li><li>NASA’s laser reflector arrays were abroad Chandrayaan 2’s lander, Vikram. </li><li>NASA and ISRO are already collaborating to build the most expensive Earth imaging satellite till date — NISAR — pegged to cost $1.5 billion. </li></ul> As the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) tries to figure out <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2-fails-in-the-final-seconds-of-descent-to-moons-south-pole/articleshow/71018196.cms">what went wrong</a> with the moon landing, international support is pouring in from all corners of the world. The US’ apex space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), tweeted that that ISRO has ‘inspired’ then with their journey. <div type="twitter" handle="NASA" handlename="NASA" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1091070803184177153/TI2qItoi_normal.jpg" favoritecount="102912" retweetcount="35977" status="Space is hard. We commend @ISRO’s attempt to land their #Chandrayaan2 mission on the Moon’s South Pole. You have in… https://t.co/M2a8mU8eVA" createdat="1567876723000" id="1170385925077131264"></div>

 NASA’s link to Chandrayaan 2 Chandrayaan 2, though primarily an Indian mission, was carrying <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2-india-moon-mission-14-high-tech-instruments-to-look-for-water/articleshow/69867398.cms">NASA’s laser instruments</a>. Its laser reflector arrays were aboard <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/everything-you-need-to-know-about-vikram-chandrayaan-2s-lander-as-it-lands-on-the-moon/articleshow/71008396.cms">the lander</a>. NASA has been sending up laser reflector arrays with every mission that’s aiming to land on the Moon. One was also on the Israeli lander, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/israeli-scientists-attempt-at-the-first-private-moon-landing-failed-because-of-a-glitch-that-caused-a-high-speed-crash-into-the-lunar-surface/articleshow/68858222.cms">Beresheet</a>, that crashed into the lunar surface earlier this year. The Moon is already home to five such lasers, according to Simone Dell’Angello, a physicist at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics National Laboratory. The aim of populating the Moon with these instruments is to get an accurate reading of the distance between the Earth and its natural satellite. Retroreflectors are basically very high tech mirrors and their job is to reflect back any lasers signals that Earth sends its way. The reflection from the instruments on the lander would help pinpoint its location. The location, in turn, can be used to calculate the precise distance between the Moon and the Earth. NASA’s history with the Moon Landing on the Moon isn’t easy and nobody knows that better than NASA. It took the US space agency <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunartimeline.html">15 attempts </a>before it finally nailed a hard landing on the Moon. Even NASA’s <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html">Surveyor Program</a> — a series of uncrewed soft landings on the Moon — had to face two failures. NASA’s has plans of its own for 2024 The last time NASA sent humans to the Moon was in 1972 as a part of the Apollo 17 mission. Its last uncrewed mission was back in 2013 when it launched the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080813104358/http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=LADEE">LADEE</a>) to intentionally crash into the far side of the Moon. Now, US President Donald Trump is looking to remake US glory by sending astronauts to the Moon again — the mission is called Artemis. He’s even moved up the deadline from 2028 to 2024 — a move that might <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/NASA-says-it-needs-a-1-6-billion-down-payment-from-Congress-to-send-astronauts-back-to-the-moon-within-5-years/articleshow/69331646.cms">cost the US government $1.55 billion</a> as well as reallocating $321 million from other NASA projects. This is on top of NASA’s <a href="http://www.planetary.org/blogs/casey-dreier/2019/0215-fy2019-nasa-gets-its-best-budget-in-decades.html">annual budget</a> of $21.5 billion. And, the spending doesn’t stop there. ISRO and NASA are currently developing a dual frequency synthetic aperture radar satellite — <a href="https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/u-s-india-to-collaborate-on-mars-exploration-earth-observing-mission/">NISAR</a>. The satellite is scheduled to take off in 2020, according to NASA. NISAR is expected to be the most expensive Earth imaging till date with its cost pegged at $1.5 billion. It aims to study the effect of climate change on the environment and the resulting hazards. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2s-orbiter-has-seven-and-a-half-years-to-scan-the-surface-of-the-moon/articleshow/71027327.cms">Chandrayaan 2’s orbiter has seven and a half years to scan the surface of the Moon</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2-fails-in-the-final-seconds-of-descent-to-moons-south-pole/articleshow/71018196.cms">Chandrayaan 2 loses contact with the lander in the final seconds of the descent to Moon's surface</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/moon-landing-drama-play-by-play-of-isro-losing-communication-with-chandrayaan-2s-lander/articleshow/71018307.cms">Moon landing drama: Play by play of ISRO losing communication with Chandrayaan 2's lander</a>

NASA 'inspired' by Chandrayaan 2 as it plans to return to the Moon after 7 years

<ul><li>India’s <keyword id="431538" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Astrosat">AstroSat</keyword> and <keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword>’s <keyword id="2228961" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chandra-X-Ray-Observatory">Chandra X-Ray Observatory</keyword> have confirmed the discovery of a <keyword id="6409890" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="black-hole">black hole</keyword> spinning close to the maximum possible speed. </li><li>A black hole spinning that fast can make <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="space">space</keyword> itself rotate according to Einstein’s theory of relativity.</li><li>In comparison, the Milky Way's own supermassive black hole moves much slower hardly taking in any energy around it.</li><li>This black hole is only one of five to have an accurately measured high spin rate. </li><li>Researchers hypothesise that this could be the key to understanding how galaxies are formed.</li></ul><keyword id="4740034" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="black-holes">Black holes</keyword>, while fascinating, are hardly a new discovery - but a black hole spinning at one of the highest speeds ever, according to the <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/isro-nasa-project-finds-black-hole-that-spins-near-max-possible-rate/story-fKCARQcL31VY74fVjgTrJJ.html">Hindustan Times</a>, is a completely different story — especially when there have only ever been four others like it. In comparison, the Milky Way's own supermassive black hole — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/milky-ways-supermassive-black-hole-just-lit-up/articleshow/70671308.cms">Sagittarius A*</a> — is relatively inactive. It moves at a much slower speed. While observing it using infrared, the black hole flickers every now and then as it takes in dust as gas. NASA initially estimated that Sagittarius A* was only taking in 1% of the energy that comes it away only to realise that its consumption is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/our-very-own-black-hole-in-the-milky-way-doesnt-quite-eat-up-everything/articleshow/69684893.cms">even lower </a> at 1% of that 1%. In 2016, India's first dedicated astronomy satellite, the AstroSat, first <a href="https://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c30-astrosat-mission/astrosat-observes-high-energy-x-ray-variability-of-black-hole-system">spotted the black hole</a> in the binary star system called 4U 1630-47, which is bursting out X-rays that astronomers found unusual. NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory later confirmed the outburst. Those X-rays were caused by gas and dust falling into the black hole, which is about 10 times the mass of the sun, and they revealed to researchers that the object is spinning very, very rapidly. In fact, according to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/news/08-003.html">NASA</a> this particular black hole is spinning very close to the limit set by Albert <keyword id="433617" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Einsteins-theory-of-relativity">Einstein's theory of relativity</keyword>, according to Rodrigo Nemmen, the lead author on the research paper. That means it is spinning close to the speed of light. Spinning to break barriers Currently, scientists only have two ways of measuring <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Physicists-have-discovered-that-rotating-black-holes-might-serve-as-portals-for-hyperspace-travel/articleshow/68434150.cms">black holes</a> - either by their mass or by their spin rate. A spin rate can be anywhere between 0 and 1: this black hole was spinning at the rate of 0.9. Einstein's theory further implies that if a black hole spinning that fast, then it is capable of making space itself rotate. In fact, if the conditions around black holes are hypothesised to be correct, then the high spin rate coupled with the gaseous elements entering the black hole and high temperatures, could be the key to understanding how galaxies are formed. Including the black hole discovered by the AstroSat, there are only five black holes have accurately measured high spin rates. Even if you're not taking spin rates into account, this black hole of one of only 20 others that have been spotted in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Indian Space Research Organisation's (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/here-is-a-list-of-isros-biggest-launches-over-the-last-2-years-that-showcase-indias-space-prowess/slidelist/52401346.cms">ISRO</a>) AstroSat along with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Chandra X-Ray Observatory have confirmed the speed of the spinning black hole. The study was conducted by researchers from multiple institutions led by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and has been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/milky-ways-supermassive-black-hole-just-lit-up/articleshow/70671308.cms">There was a big spark — 75 times brighter than usual — from the black hole at the heart of the Milky Way</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/a-black-hole-bigger-than-the-sun-is-pulling-on-the-fabric-of-space-and-time/articleshow/69127080.cms">A black hole bigger than the sun is pulling on the fabric of space and time</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/our-very-own-black-hole-in-the-milky-way-doesnt-quite-eat-up-everything/articleshow/69684893.cms">Our very own black hole in the Milky Way doesn’t quite eat up ‘everything’</a>

ISRO, NASA just spotted a black hole spinning so fast that it could be making space itself rotate

<ul><li>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) attempt to soft land near the Moon’s South Pole ended in loss of contact with the lunar lander, Vikram. </li><li>The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the <keyword id="8074589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Arab-Emirates-space-agency">United Arab Emirates Space Agency</keyword> have expressed their support for ISRO. </li><li>Mauritius, Maldives, Vietnam, Bhutan, and Bulgaria also offered words of encouragement for India and ISRO. </li></ul>India’s second mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan 2, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2s-orbiter-has-seven-and-a-half-years-to-scan-the-surface-of-the-moon/articleshow/71027327.cms">might not have been a complete success</a> but nations from all over the world are rallying their support. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) tweeted that it is ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/nasa-inspired-by-chandrayaan-2-as-it-plans-to-return-to-the-moon-after-7-years/articleshow/71031506.cms">inspired</a>’ by India’s attempt to soft land on the Moon. <div type="twitter" handle="NASA" handlename="NASA" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1091070803184177153/TI2qItoi_normal.jpg" favoritecount="104991" retweetcount="36538" status="Space is hard. We commend @ISRO’s attempt to land their #Chandrayaan2 mission on the Moon’s South Pole. You have in… https://t.co/M2a8mU8eVA" createdat="1567876723000" id="1170385925077131264"></div>

 NASA’s laser retroreflectors were onboard the lunar lander, Vikram, which is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2-fails-in-the-final-seconds-of-descent-to-moons-south-pole/articleshow/71018196.cms">no longer sending any signals</a> back to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency also came in support of ISRO. The director of the organisation, Mohammed AlAhbabi, stated that losing contact with the lunar lander ‘is not the end of success’ for India. He even called India ‘a great space power’. <div type="twitter" handle="DrAlahbabi" handlename="Dr.Mohammed AlAhbabi" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/602453760833519616/Zav_xcgp_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2938" retweetcount="855" status="The loss of contact with the Indian spacecraft, #Chandrayaan2 which was planned to land on the #moon, is not the en… https://t.co/VreBmj4O83" createdat="1567859099000" id="1170312002696286214"></div>

 <keyword id="8074590" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mauritius-Prime-Minister-Pravind-Jugnauth">Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth</keyword> echoed NASA’s interest in collaborating with India on space missions. He tweeted that despite the landing not being successful, it’s still a ‘major technological advancement’ for the Indian space programme. <div type="twitter" handle="MauritiusPM" handlename="Pravind Jugnauth" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1167874717547556865/0RHupdpJ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="13125" retweetcount="2441" status="I wish to congratulate the government of India and the ISRO team for their attempt at landing the Vikram lander and… https://t.co/b6UNjidXQi" createdat="1567844317000" id="1170250004457578496"></div>

 The Bulgarian foreign ministry also chimed in to congratulate India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on India’s endeavour to land on the Moon. Despite being unsuccessful, Bulgaria believes this can lay the groundwork for India’s next attempt. <div type="twitter" handle="MFABulgaria" handlename="MFA Bulgaria" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/558255116298358784/i2DPgPi6_normal.jpeg" favoritecount="4024" retweetcount="724" status="We congratulate India on their historic #Chandrayaan-2 mission attempting to land at the lunar South Pole. Despite… https://t.co/S0GsL30khy" createdat="1567867968000" id="1170349201601024003"></div>

 Bhutan’s Prime Minister Lotay Tshering too is confident that India will definitely ‘make it happen one day’. Just the hard work and courage that went into attempting such a feat is ‘historical’, according to Tshering. <div type="twitter" handle="PMBhutan" handlename="PM Bhutan" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1162028719872942080/VFYbpED4_normal.jpg" favoritecount="111114" retweetcount="20825" status="We are proud of India and its scientists today. Chandrayaan-2 saw some challenges last minute but the courage and h… https://t.co/w8Zdlj0OcJ" createdat="1567824453000" id="1170166685912817664"></div>

 Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih shares a similar opinion that ISRO’s headway with Chandrayaan 2 advances the ‘cause of human scientific progress’. <div type="twitter" handle="ibusolih" handlename="Ibrahim Mohamed Solih" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1109020376569249792/_MUP8CjS_normal.jpg" favoritecount="18566" retweetcount="3502" status="With Chandraayan 2, India has made history. Whatever the final outcome, landing a probe on the moon is no mean feat… https://t.co/nD0Y6nX2IJ" createdat="1567846293000" id="1170258290443374592"></div>

 To cap it off, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister tweeted on an optimistic note that ‘this is just the beginning of the story’. <div type="twitter" handle="FMPhamBinhMinh" handlename="PhamBinhMinh" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/669436671751020544/4ZZxFBUc_normal.jpg" favoritecount="4993" retweetcount="870" status="#Chandrayaan2: success doesn't come easy, it's a long journey with a lot of efforts and it is worth to try. My appr… https://t.co/fmx63Z4Iab" createdat="1567866101000" id="1170341372030681090"></div>

 See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2s-orbiter-has-seven-and-a-half-years-to-scan-the-surface-of-the-moon/articleshow/71027327.cms">Chandrayaan 2’s orbiter has seven and a half years to scan the surface of the Moon</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayaan-2-fails-in-the-final-seconds-of-descent-to-moons-south-pole/articleshow/71018196.cms">Chandrayaan 2 loses contact with the lander in the final seconds of the descent to Moon's surface</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/moon-landing-drama-play-by-play-of-isro-losing-communication-with-chandrayaan-2s-lander/articleshow/71018307.cms">Moon landing drama: Play by play of ISRO losing communication with Chandrayaan 2's lander</a>

International support pours in for ISRO after losing contact with lunar lander

<ul><li>The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) claims that India's test of their anti-satellite weapon is a "terrible, terrible thing."</li><li>The head of NASA stated, "That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight."</li><li>But, most experts feel like since the test was conducted at an altitude of 250kms, it's unlikely to be a threat to the <keyword id="6382020" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-space-station">International Space Station</keyword> (ISS).</li></ul>The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has strongly criticised <keyword id="3384000" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mission-Shakti">Mission Shakti</keyword>, India's anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon test, saying the debris from the explosion endangers the International Space Station (ISS). According to NASA, the risk of collision of the debris with the International Space Station (ISS) has increased by 44% over the last 10 days. "What we are tracking right now, objects big enough to track — we're talking about 10 centimeters (six inches) or bigger — about 60 pieces have been tracked," Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of NASA said in an announcement to his employees. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="ExtQuote" text="That is a terrible, terrible thing to create an event that sends debris at an apogee that goes above the International Space Station: That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight." auname="Jim Bridenstine, administrator of NASA"></div>

















 This may put India's collaboration with US on <keyword id="7168485" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mission-Gaganyaan">Mission Gaganyaan</keyword>, the Indian human spaceflight programme, in jeopardy. Bridentstine and the <keyword id="6358064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro">ISRO</keyword> Chairman, K Sivan, were <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/us-india-collaboration-gaganyaan-manned-space-mission-charles-bolden-1474207-2019-03-09">reportedly</a> in talks about forming a working group to work exclusively on the project. It may also push India towards cementing its <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/russia-commits-full-support-to-indias-first-manned-space-mission-gaganyaan-pm-modi-5388790/">collaboration</a> with Russia for the Gaganyaan mission. India and France was already signed a memorandum of understanding where the French scientists will share their expertise to help the human space project get off the ground. Is there really a threat to the ISS? The United States Air Force (USAF) has also been tracking remnants from India's ASAT test. Lt. Gen. David Thompson, vice commander of USAF <a href="https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/03/27/u-s-military-sensors-track-debris-from-indian-anti-satellite-test/">told</a> the Senate Armed Services Committee in the US that, "they are tracking about 270 different objects in the debris field." Adding that the number will only grow as the debris spreads out and their sensors pick up more information. An <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-anti-satellite-missile-test-may-have-created-6500-eraser-size-pieces-of-space-junk-near-earth-according-to-a-new-simulation/articleshow/68639583.cms">estimated</a> 6,500 pieces of space debris as expected as a result of Mission Shakti according to a simulation created by Analytical Graphics Inc., an engineering software company that creates models of the space environment around Earth. The Indian government, on the other hand, <a href="https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/31179/Frequently_Asked_Questions_on_Mission_Shakti_Indias_AntiSatellite_Missile_test_conducted_on_27_March_2019">claims</a> that their test was specifically conducted in low Earth orbit (LEO) in order to ensure that there is no space debris created. And whatever debris may have been left behind, will eventually decay and fall back onto Earth within the span of a few weeks. Experts like Kumar Abhijeet, member of the International Institute of Space Law, also believe that the debris will most likely dissipate in the atmosphere. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div type="ExtQuote" text="Now, debris also depends on where we’re doing the test. In China’s case, they did it at 800kms — we’ve conducted ours at 300kms. The debris will most likely burn up in the atmosphere. So there is minimum chance of debris being created." auname="Kumar Abhijeet, Member of the International Institute of Space Law and Research Scholar at the Institute of Air and Space Law"></div>

















 While China's ASAT test in 2007 might have resulted in the destruction of two Russian satellites due the debris left behind, the test was also conducted at a higher altitude of 850 kilometers. India's test, on the other hand was at an altitude of 300kms. Since it well below the 400 kms threshold, most experts are <a href="http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3686/1">claiming</a> are there is no threat to the ISS especially since the debris from the 2008 test conducted by the US at 250kms dissipated within days. Since then, the Bridenstine has had to resume <a href="https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-india-debris/pentagon-says-india-debris-expected-to-burn-up-in-atmosphere-idINKCN1RG22J">cooperation </a>with ISRO after an assessment by the Pentagon revealed that the space debris generated by India's ASAT set would dissipate within a few months and does not pose a threat to human space flight. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-asat-mission-shakti-creates-space-debris/articleshow/68594904.cms">India's test of its anti-satellite weapon may have weakened its fight against dangerous space debris</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-asat-test-marks-time-for-nations-to-make-new-space-treaty/articleshow/68607435.cms">It might be time for ‘space superpowers' to bring in a new space treaty</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/prime-minister-modi-in-his-live-address-says-indian-scientists-shot-down-a-low-orbit-satellite-300-km-away-in-space/articleshow/68593276.cms">India enters an elite club after scientists shoot down a low orbit satellite 300 km away in space</a>

NASA slams India's anti-satellite test, may pull support from mission Gaganyaan

India's <keyword id="2621282" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Human-Space-Flight">human space flight</keyword> mission <keyword id="6797456" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaganyaan">Gaganyaan</keyword> will be "slightly delayed" owing to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic even as <keyword id="6358064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro">ISRO</keyword> resumes rocket launch activities from the first week of November, space agency chief K. Sivan said on Monday. Answering a query at the plenary session of the International Astronautical Congress 2020, the <keyword id="116095" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword> (ISRO) Chairman said India's first human space flight was targeted in August 2022, but owing to Covid-19's impact on the operations, the there will be a slight slip in meeting the mission's target date. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2018, had said when the nation is celebrating 75th year of Independence in 2022, an Indian son or daughter will be flying into space under the <keyword id="6827364" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaganyaan-mission">Gaganyaan mission</keyword>. Sivan said that the Gaganyaan mission has advanced well and the country is taking the help of other space-faring nations like Russia for training the astronauts and some other critical aspects, France in the space medical area and is also approaching US space agency NASA. On resuming rocket launches, he said some missions were delayed as officials were unable to travel to the rocket port from different cities. Sivan said ISRO is planning to launch its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C49 (PSLV C49) during the first week of November. The PSLV C49 rocket will fly with RISAT-2BR2 as the main passenger and about several other third party satellites for a fee. According to Sivan, international cooperation is the hallmark of India's space activities. The country has signed about 250 collaboration agreements with about 59 nations. He said India's international collaborations are a mix-some for getting advanced technologies and some are for helping other space faring nations and pointed out training 60 persons from 23 nations in building nano-satellites. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/wipros-second-quarter-will-be-telling-of-how-its-new-ceo-is-steering-the-ship/articleshow/78623027.cms">Wipro's second-quarter will be telling of how its new CEO is steering the ship</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/sitharaman-offers-states-12000-crore-interest-free-for-the-next-50-years-if-they-can-spend-it-on-capital-projects-by-march-2021/articleshow/78616741.cms">Sitharaman offers states ₹12,000 crore interest-free for the next 50 years if they can spend it on capital projects by March 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/itcm-nirbhay-missiles-maiden-launch-cancelled-due-to-technical-snag/articleshow/78619468.cms">ITCM Nirbhay missile's maiden launch cancelled due to 'technical snag'</a>

India's human space flight mission may face slight delay as ISRO resumes launching rockets in November

Ahead of the launch of India's maiden human spaceflight venture '<keyword id="6797456" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaganyaan">Gaganyaan</keyword>' in December 2021, the Indian Space Research Organisation will undertake two unmanned missions in December 2020 and June 2021, ISRO chairman K Sivan said on Wednesday. Addressing the inaugural session of a symposium on "Human Spaceflight and Exploration - Present Challenges and Future Trends," Sivan said the Gaganyaan mission not only aims at India's maiden human flight to the space but also setting up a new space station for 'continuous space human presence'. "We are doing all this (Gaganyaan) on three points - short term plan of two unmanned mission in December 2020 and June 2021, followed by human space flight demonstration in December 2021. We have the mid term goal of sustaining the human space programme and continuous space human presence in space on a new space station", he said. In this regard, the ISRO has initiated a full-fledged astronaut training facility in close proximity to Bengaluru for meeting its future requirements. The space agency is also in talks with NASA and other space agencies and industries on how it can collaborate on human space flight and learn from their experience. The Gaganyaan will also assist in ISRO's long term goal of inter-planetary mission. "Inter-planetary mission is also on the agenda in the long term," the ISRO Chief said. On Gaganyaan mission, Sivan said the space agency has already developed and demonstrated key technologies such as having an operational launcher with 10-tonne playload capability to lower orbit, demonstration ofmission design and management, and recovery system like space qualified parachutes. "The only missing element were human life science and life support system, which we are developing now," he said. ISRO, Sivan said, has taken onboard many national labs, academic institutions, DRDO labs, Indian Air Force, CSIR Labas well as many industries as stakeholders for Gaganyaanprogramme. Noting that the astronauts have been selected from a pool of Indian Air Force test pilots, Sivan said the generic space flight training will commence in India shortly. A mission specific training will be carried out in India using a host of simulators and other facilities, he added. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/budget-2020-isro-needs-rs-666-cr-for-chandrayaan-3/articleshow/73462546.cms">Exploring space is expensive — and ISRO needs more money from the 2020 Union Budget</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/chandrayaan-3-and-gaganyaan-top-priorities-for-isro-in-2020/articleshow/73063629.cms">India's second mission to land on the Moon, Chandrayaan 3, confirmed by ISRO chief</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/madhavans-rocketry-isro-spy-case-nambi-narayan-gets-1-3-compensation/articleshow/72991747.cms">An Indian rocket scientist lost 25 years falsely accused of being a spy— now he will get $180,000 as compensation</a>

ISRO will send two unmmaned missions into space before Gaganyaan

<ul><li>India’s second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan 2, will be carrying a lot of 14 payloads when it takes off on July 15. </li><li>Majority of the payloads — eight out of 14 — will be aboard the orbiter.</li><li>ISRO’s biggest project till date is also collaborating with NASA to send their Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) to the moon. </li></ul>India's going looking for water on the moon and it has 14 instruments on board Chandrayaan 2 to help it do just that. The GSLV Mark III- M1, or 'Bahubali', will be launching today and carrying 3 modules — the orbiter, the lander called Vikram and Pragyan, the rover —that are taking 13 payloads from various Indian institutions and one from the US' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Together the instruments are going to build on Chandrayaan 1's discovery of water by soft landing on the Moon's South Pole to determine where more water can be found and how much of it is present. This is the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/heres-why-chandrayaan-2-is-landmark-moon-mission-for-india/articleshow/69842571.cms">biggest project till date with a cost of nearly ₹10 billion.</a> But, scientists are hoping that it will be well worth the investment because if successful, this will be the first time any country has landed on the Moon’s South Pole. The orbiter will be doing most of the heavy lifting with eight of the 13 payloads resting on its shoulders, while the lander will be carrying three payloads and the Pragyan will carry two when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/chandrayan-2-lunar-mission-to-launch-in-july-by-isro/articleshow/69139095.cms">they launch</a>. Chandrayaan 2, set to take off from the Sriharikota launch site on July 15 at 2:15am Indian Standard Time (IST), wants to build on Chandrayaan 1’s discovery of water on the moon but also try and understand the Solar System’s early history. The mission will attempt a soft landing on a high plain between two of the Moon’s craters on the South Pole — Manzinus C and Simpelius N. It is expected to last a total of 15 days once ISRO successfully lands on the Moon. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is also collaborating with the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) to carry their Laser Retroreflector Array to the Moon. Here’s a quick look at everything that Chandrayaan-2 will be carrying to the moon:

India’s second mission to the moon will use these 14 high-tech instruments to look for water

<ul><li>The Indian Space Research Organisation (<keyword id="6358064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro">ISRO</keyword>) is looking to top <keyword id="6355315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon-musk">Elon Musk</keyword>'s <keyword id="6360701" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="spacex">SpaceX</keyword> success by applying reusable launch technology (RLT) to their <keyword id="1557817" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="rocket-launches">rocket launches</keyword>. </li><li>Unlike SpaceX, who only used RLT in the first stage of a rocket launch, ISRO's wants to apply it to the second stage as well. </li><li>The application of RLT to the second stage of a rocket launch is something that no other space agency in the world has been able to achieve so far.</li></ul>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is following in Elon Musk’s footsteps by trying to replicate the success SpaceX had with its reusable launch technology (RLT). It’s even looking to take it a lot further. SpaceX was only able to apply RLT to the first stage of a rocket launch, but ISRO wants to conduct an advanced version that will also carry into the second stage. The test is scheduled to take place between the months of June and July, later this year. <keyword id="2003919" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="K-Sivan">K Sivan</keyword>, the Chairman at ISRO, told the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/isro-developing-technology-to-reuse-first-second-stages-of-rocket/articleshow/67532655.cms">Times of India</a>, “The second stage recovery has never been tried by any other space agency in the world, not even SpaceX.” ISRO’s success with this mission could make it a bigger part of the global market that’s set to grow to $7 billion by 2024. Building on ISRO’s commercial success Reusable launch technology (RLT) basically allows the company to re-use its first stage rocket for multiple launches. Not only does it save the company money, but also time that would be spent building a rocket from scratch. ISRO has already had some <a href="https://www.isro.gov.in/update/23-may-2016/india%E2%80%99s-reusable-launch-vehicle-technology-demonstrator-rlv-td-successfully">success</a> with it back in 2016 when it launched the HS9 solid rocket booster from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) on board the HS9 survived re-entry and neatly landed in the designated area over the Bay of Bengal. Currently, SpaceX dominates the global market for rocket launches. Starting out in 2009, it was able to capture more than 50% of the market share by 2018 — largely due to their use of reusable technology. On the other hand, Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial and marketing arm of ISRO, only caters to 0.6% of the global market. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/isro-nasa-just-spotted-a-black-hole-spinning-so-fast-that-it-could-be-making-space-itself-rotate/articleshow/66416605.cms">ISRO, NASA just spotted a black hole spinning so fast that it could be making space itself rotate</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/isro-pads-up-to-make-indias-manned-mission-into-space-a-reality/articleshow/64887057.cms">ISRO pads up to make India's manned mission into space a reality</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/isro-creates-a-space-for-the-private-industry-to-collaborate-for-27-satellites/articleshow/65073240.cms">ISRO creates a space for the private industry, to collaborate for 27 satellites</a>

India’s apex space agency is following Elon Musk's idea — and taking it a step forward

It’s aptly quoted, “We were born as explorers, not caretakers”. The “beyond planet” fascination is hard to explain but it is what it is. Technology and so much else has changed over the decades since those first footprints in the lunar dust that there’s now a good chance a <keyword id="6360409" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA">NASA</keyword> astronaut won’t be the first to walk out onto the next new world. 
 
TeamIndus, an aerospace start-up based out of Bangalore is going to be the first privately funded company in the world to land a rover on moon and it’ll be done with the help of former ISRO scientists who have worked on projects like Aryabhatta and Chandrayaan-1. 
 
From an IT job to being a space-tech entrepreneur 
 “Rahul Narayan (Co-founder) was working at an IT firm and he then saw this wallpaper of Google Lunar X Prize (GLXP) on a desktop. The first thing he did was find out what it was and then call the GLXP office to find out which Indian team was in the competition. Fortunately, there was no one and then at the moment he registered. Quit his job and started pursuing this,” said <keyword id="3453187" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sheelika-ravishankar">Sheelika Ravishankar</keyword>, Marketing and Outreach. 
 For an engineer working at an IT firm leaving his job to pursue his dreams has always been a risky venture. Guess what? Risk takers get rewards. He then took this company to a point where <keyword id="44604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nandan-Nilekani">Nandan Nilekani</keyword>, and former Yahoo India R&amp;D chief <keyword id="207306" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sharad-Sharma">Sharad Sharma</keyword> were the first one to invest. Why wouldn’t they be? It’s a matter of national pride and not just equity. 
 
Google Lunar X Prize 
 
The Google Lunar XPRIZE was launched in September 2007. The competition offers a total of US$30 million in prizes to the first privately funded teams to land a robot on the Moon that successfully travels more than 500 meters and transmits back high-definition images and video. 
 
The Spacecraft 
 
The lightest UAV sent on moon was by China, which was nearly 150 kgs. The spacecraft we’re making will carry a 20-kg payload, of which 10 kg will be allotted for commercial use. Yes, they took it to another level (from 150 kgs to 20). “Additionally there are a lot of complications in making an aircraft, we have to take care of temperatures, we have to land on the right spot decided at that moment, right wheels to travel on the surface of moon etc. But we’ve been doing good under the guidance of ISRO experts and our young and enthusiastic colleagues.Of which some of them have left their previous jobs,” said Sheelika. 
 
AI enabled Rover 
 
The rover will be tapped with AI enabled software which will decide where to land at moment. “We looked at all the data from NASA and Russian mission and we found a spot called Mare Imbrium. When the system reaches the surface it has to make decision anonymously. Because it’s moving at a speed of 1.7 kms/sec we needed to have AI in the system. So we collaborated with Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics(LASP), University of Colorado, which is older than NASA.,” said Sheelika 
 
Investment 
 
When asked about how much they need to build a rover and successfully execute the requirements, Sheelika stated that the total sum required is US$70 million and currently they’re in a process to raise another round of US$10 million.

This Indian Startup will be the first privately funded
company to land a rover on Moon

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/initiative/3">Breakthrough Foundation</a> An illustration of a Breakthrough Starshot "nanocraft" being propelled toward the Alpha Centauri star system with a powerful laser beam. </div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/breakthrough-starshot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Breakthrough Starshot</a> wants to use powerful lasers to propel tiny robotic probes to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/alpha-centauri" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alpha Centauri</a>, a nearby star system that may contain habitable planets.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/yuri-milner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yuri Milner</a>, a Russian-American billionaire, and other Silicon Valley investors are funding the project.</li><li>Starshot calls for a 100-gigawatt <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/lasers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">laser</a> that could shoot into space and accelerate probes called StarChips to 20% of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/speed-of-light" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speed of light</a>.</li><li>Chief engineer Peter Klupar said the laser would be brighter than the sun and "could ignite an entire city" if reflected back to Earth.</li></ul>An initiative called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starshot-alpha-centauri-robots-stephen-hawking-yuri-milner-2016-4">Breakthrough Starshot</a> wants to explore another star system using ultra-powerful laser beams and wafer-thin spaceships.It's a goal that sounds so fantastic, you'd be forgiven for dismissing it as <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> fiction. But it's no joke, and the project's chief engineer says millions of dollars' worth of work is moving along without any major snags.Starshot's founders and collaborators include the late <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-hawking-how-the-physicist-inspired-my-career-2018-3">Stephen Hawking</a>, Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb, and Russian-American billionaire Yuri Milner. The concept is based on more than 80 <a href="https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/research/3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">scientific studies</a> about interstellar travel.Milner and other Silicon Valley investors have even paid $100 million to cover the first 10 years of research and development."They had us go and study a whole range of different approaches of how would we send an object to [another star]," Peter Klupar, the engineering director of the nonprofit <a href="https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Breakthrough Foundation</a> and its Starshot initiative, told an audience at the Economist's <a href="https://events.economist.com/events-conferences/americas/space-summit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Space Summit</a> on November 1. "We ended up deciding that the only credible way to do it today was building a large laser based in probably Chile."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1241e/">ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2 Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin</a>A wide-field view of the sky around the bright star Alpha Centauri.</div></div></div>The project hopes to propel roughly 1,000 tiny <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/breakthrough-starshot-sprite-spacecraft-launch-2017-7">"StarChip" spacecraft</a> toward Alpha Centauri, the second-closest star system to Earth, at 20% of light-speed (about 134 million mph). Each "chip" would weigh 1 gram or less. Another destination under consideration is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starshot-proxima-centauri-habitable-planet-2016-8">Proxima Centauri</a>, which is even closer to Earth and may have a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/proxima-b-potentially-earth-like-planet-around-closest-star-2016-8">habitable planet</a>.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alien-signals-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence-study-2018-10">Smart aliens might live within 33,000 light-years of Earth. A new study explains why we haven't found them yet.</a>In either case, StarChips may start careening out of the solar system in the mid-2030s. Each one would accelerate to its insane cruising speed within minutes, thanks to the mighty laser blast beamed into space from Earth.But Klupar noted that a 100-gigawatt laser "beamer" would be powerful enough to "ignite an entire city in minutes" if it were reflected off a mirror in space and back to Earth.Vaporizing cities is not the goal of Starshot, of course.Rather, if the plan works out, camera-wielding Starchips could send humanity the first close-up photos of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-space-telescope-tess-searches-for-alien-planets-2018-8">Earth-size worlds</a> by the 2060s. (The voyage would take about 25 years, then receiving data would take another 4-plus years depending on the destination.)Starshot was unveiled in 2016, and Klupar said work on the project since then has moved right along."You would think that this is all impossible, but we have folks at Caltech and the University of Southampton and Exeter University working on about 50 contracts on making all [of] this happen," Klupar said. "No one has come up with a deal-breaker that we can find yet. It all seems real."<h2>Sprites, lasers, and 'reflective smoke'</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Breakthrough PrizeAn artist's depiction of a laser array that'd propel Starshot's "nanocraft" to nearby star.</div></div></div>Klupar and others are not deluding themselves about Starshot's <a href="https://sites.uci.edu/energyobserver/2017/09/15/challenges-to-the-starshot-dream/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many hurdles</a>. Even the project's own <a href="https://arxiv.org/search/?query=breakthrough+starshot&amp;searchtype=all&amp;source=header" target="_blank" rel="noopener">studies</a> regularly make room for dead ends.Some of the internal research frets about the potentially untenable <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1805.01306" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost of building a laser facility</a>. Other papers analyze the concept of a "light sail": the device that would need to "catch" the laser beam and convert its energy into motion.Some researchers question whether such a sail would <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1704.04310" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fall apart</a> when faced with the heat or mind-numbing acceleration (about 60,000 times the force of gravity on Earth's surface). There's also a risk that the sail could steer a StarChip <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.05856" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wildly off-course</a>."The sail is very thin. It's about 400 atoms thick, it weighs about a half a gram, and it's four meters in diameter," Klupar said. "I think of it as 'reflective smoke.'"There's also the pesky issue of <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1608.05284" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gas and dust</a> that lurk between stars; such material could <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1701.04319" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blast a fast-moving spacecraft</a> into robotic Swiss cheese.Nevertheless, Starshot engineers and scientists either see ways around all these issues (such as accepting that a majority of spacecraft won't make it) or figure that future technological advancements could solve many of the problems within a couple of decades.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/Initiative/3">Breakthrough Starshot</a>An edited photo of Starshot's "sprite" prototype spacecraft.</div></div></div>As an example of demonstrable progress, Klupar highlighted experimental 4-gram satellites, called "sprites," built and tested <a href="https://www.mae.cornell.edu/news/breakthrough-starshot-sprites-orbit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by Cornell</a>. In June 2017, a fleet of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/breakthrough-starshot-sprite-spacecraft-launch-2017-7">six sprites rode into space</a> aboard an Indian-built rocket."This first one was just a stunt just to see if it'd work," Klupar said. The launch was a success - the sprites used a temperature sensor and relayed the data to Earth along with a radio "beep" signal.Such tiny spacecraft could be seen as a precursor to StarChips, Klupar said."It feels a lot like the way CubeSats felt 20 years ago," he said, referring to roughly fist- to breadbox-size spacecraft that are pervasive today.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-rocket-launch-webcast-live-stream-video-ssoa-2018-11">Watch SpaceX launch a fleet of more than 5 dozen satellites on a twice-used rocket</a>"People were saying, 'Those are toys, they're never going to develop into anything, there's no way I can see that ever working,'" Klupar said. "And today and look them: Hundreds of millions of dollars is being spent [on CubeSats]."'Starshot aims to launch more 4-gram sprites next year, though with some significant improvements that will be essential to developing a StarChip."We're going to put cameras on there, and we're going to start to put all kinds of devices on them," Klupar said.<h2>'You can get to Mars in days'</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/space-images/mars/global-view-of-mars-from-mom-meridiani.html">ISRO/ISSDC/Emily Lakdawalla (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)</a>A photo illustration of the red planet using imagery taken by the Mars Orbiter Mission.</div></div></div>Klupar said Starshot's next five years of work is devoted to "learning how to put together these systems so that they actually operate" in the way Starshot envisions them.But before Starshot reaches for the Centauri star systems, it has a much closer target: the solar system.Around the year 2030, the project hopes to build a 1-gigawatt laser-beaming base station somewhere in the Sierra Nevada mountains (assuming it secures more funding). Such a facility would then test the concepts of laser-powered interstellar StarChip missions, but at a cost about 10 times less. The ideas is to propel probes past planets, moons, asteroids and more at 1% the speed of light."It turns out that with a 1-gigawatt system and a 10-meter sail, you can get to Mars in days, or get to Jupiter in weeks, or get to Pluto in months," Klupar said. (By contrast, it took NASA's New Horizons probe <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasas-new-horizons-probe-wakes-to-explore-ultima-thule-2018-6">about nine years</a> to reach Pluto.)Klupar estimated the whole effort would cost about $1 billion, with most of the investment devoted to the laser-beamer. Once that facility is built, though, simple and frequent deep-space exploration could be relatively cheap.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Breakthrough PrizeAn illustration of a Starshot "nanocraft" sailing toward a distant star using a powerful laser beam.</div></div></div>According to <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1805.01306" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a preliminary study</a> by a Starshot researcher, each "launch" of a StarChip across the solar system may cost tens of thousands or just thousands of dollars.That estimate assumes optimistic decreases in the cost of lasers, energy, and energy storage, but it's still far cheaper than the $1 billion or so typically required to send a robot to another planet.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-insight-mars-probe-landing-successful-science-mission-2018-11">NASA's new Mars mission just landed - and it could reveal why Earth is habitable but the red planet is not</a>The StarChip variant designed for our solar system would be about 100 grams, Klupar said - about 100 times more massive than the interstellar kind. But he added that launching any StarChip would require many nations to be involved and approve of the effort. That's because shooting a 1-gigawatt laser into space is not only bright, but could damage passing satellites (which could especially be an issue for planned satellite-internet constellations like SpaceX's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starlink-spacecraft-pictures-elon-musk-2018-2">Starlink</a> project.)With the interstellar Starshot effort, the need for global collaboration is even more important."The 100-gigawatt laser can be seen across the galaxy. It will be brighter than the sun," Klupar said.Such a powerful laser blast would turn Earth into a brilliant beacon that loudly broadcasts "intelligent life exists here" to any alien civilization that happens to be staring down the figurative barrel."We're not really doing this just for one group of people," he said. "It's also the whole planet." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-hawking-warning-space-aliens-seti-2016-12">Stephen Hawking warned us about contacting aliens, but this astronomer says it's 'too late'</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

A startup is developing a 100-gigawatt laser to propel a probe to another star system. That may be powerful enough to 'ignite an entire city.'

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/Initiative/3">Breakthrough Starshot</a>An edited photo of a prototype "sprite," a type of spacecraft that was launched into orbit by Breakthrough Starshot.</div></div></div><ul><li>Breakthrough Starshot, an ambitious project to explore a nearby star system, has launched its first prototypes into orbit.</li><li>Each "sprite" spacecraft is about the size of a cracker and is equipped with a radio, computer, and other instruments.</li><li>The feat is a step towards developing even smaller and more capable "starchip" robots.</li><li>Starchips may be propelled by lasers to the nearby Alpha Centauri star system within two to three decades.</li></ul>Breakthrough Starshot, a Russian billionaire's $100-million effort to explore the closest star system to our own, has launched the smallest-ever spacecraft into orbit around Earth.The six cracker-size robots, called "sprites," are printed circuit boards designed to survive in space. Each one comes equipped with tiny solar panels and two antennas, plus a tiny radio, computer, gyroscope (to move and stabilize the craft), and magnetometer (to orient to Earth's magnetic field).Each sprite is wafer-thin, measures about 12 square centimeters (1.9 square inches) in area, and weighs the same amount as four US dollar bills.As reported by Scientific American, Starshot launched six of the sprites on June 23 aboard two European satellites on an Indian-built rocket."This is a very early version of what we would send to interstellar distances," Pete Worden, a former director of NASA's Ames Research Center and Starshot's executive director, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reaching-for-the-stars-breakthrough-sends-smallest-ever-satellites-into-orbit/">told SciAm</a>.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.isro.gov.in/pslv-c38-cartosat-2-series-satellite/pslv-c38-cartosat-2-series-satellite-gallery">Copyright of ISRO</a>India's PSLV-C38 mission launches toward space.</div></div></div>Two of Starshot's sprites are attached to small educational nanosatellites: the Venta (operated by Latvia) and the Max Valier (operated by Italy). Four more await deployment inside the Max Valier, according to SciAm."The spacecraft are in radio communication with ground stations in California and New York, as well as with amateur radio enthusiasts around the world," a Starshot press release said. "This mission is designed to test how well the Sprites' electronics perform in orbit, and demonstrates their novel radio communication architecture."The fact that they seem to work in space is a big advance for Breakthrough Starshot - an ambitious, decades-long project <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/starshot-alpha-centauri-robots-stephen-hawking-yuri-milner-2016-4">announced in April 2016</a> by Stephen Hawking and Russian physicist and venture capitalist Yuri Milner.The ultimate goal, perhaps within the next 20 to 30 years, is to propel even smaller spaceships, called "starchips," to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-starshot-laser-robots-work-2016-4/">20% the speed of light</a> with powerful, Earth-based lasers."Life in the universe does not only mean extraterrestrial life ... it means us," Milner said at the time. "Can we reach the stars? Can we do it in our lifetimes?"<h2>Sailing between stars</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Breakthrough Prize</div></div></div>Breakthrough Starshot's general target is Alpha Centauri, the closest system of stars to Earth, which is located about 4.37 light-years (25.7 trillion miles) away.Within that system, researchers are eyeing Proxima Centauri: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/red-dwarf-planets-proxima-b-aliens-2016-8">a red dwarf star</a> that's about 1 trillion miles closer than two other stars in the system.Proxima Centauri is thought to harbor an Earth-size planet, called <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/proxima-b-potentially-earth-like-planet-around-closest-star-2016-8">Proxima b</a>, in its Goldilocks-like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/goldilocks-exoplanet-habitability-internal-heat-2016-8">habitable zone</a>."A spacecraft equipped with a camera and various filters could take color images of the planet and infer whether it is green (harboring life as we know it), blue (with water oceans on its surface) or just brown (dry rock)," Avi Loeb, a physicist at Harvard University and a <a href="https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/fe201609">Starshot mission advisory committee chair</a>, told Business Insider in 2016.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1241e/">ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2 Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin</a>A wide-field view of the sky around the bright star Alpha Centauri.</div></div></div>The photos of Proxima b would take at least 4.24 years - the distance in light-years from here to the star - to get back to Earth.Milner said in April 2016 that Starshot will start out as a $100 million engineering proof-of-concept to design, build, launch, and propel a small fleet of starchips to Alpha Centauri in about 25 years' time.Each starchip will contain a laser-light sail for propulsion. "This is the Silicon valley approach to spaceflight," Milner said at the time.The starchips will be built out of a "gram-scale" silicon wafer that's "carrying cameras, photon thrusters, power supply, navigation and communication equipment, and constituting a fully functional space probe," Milner added.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Breakthrough PrizeAn artist's depiction of Starshot's "beamer" laser array that'd propel StarChips to a nearby star system</div></div></div>Moving each starchip along will be a "Lightsail" propulsion unit. An <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMkWGN1G6Kg">array of powerful lasers called a "beamer"</a> will take aim at the Lightsails, accelerating each tiny spacecraft to more than 134 million mph.Loeb previously said that the next five to 10 years of the project - and most of the $100 million - will be focused on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/starshot-nanocraft-technology-challenges-2016-4">proving that the laser propulsion idea actually works</a>. They'll need it to function as way to "potentially launch hundreds of cheap, gram-scale spacecrafts per year."Starshot wants to launch hundreds of starchips because there's safety in numbers: At 20% the speed of light, hitting even the tiniest speck of space dust could obliterate a robot.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">ESO/M. KornmesserAn artist's impression of the surface of the extrasolar planet Proxima b.</div></div></div>"This will allow us to send a fleet of probes towards Proxima that could relay the images taken back to Earth more easily (from one spacecraft to the next along the line of sight to Proxima)," he said.Even if the mission is a smashing success, Starshot may discover that Proxima b doesn't support life. Loeb said it's important to explore the not-so-distant world regardless."The lifetime of Proxima is several trillion years, almost a thousand times longer than the remaining lifetime of the Sun," he said. "Hence, a habitable rocky planet around Proxima would be the most natural location to where our civilization could aspire to move after the Sun will die, five billions years from now." (At least one sci-fi author <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/earth-like-planet-proxima-b-colonize-kim-stanley-robinson-aurora-2016-8">thinks this is a horrible idea</a>.)<h2>A wealthy fan of space exploration</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Hawking-Space-Exploration/406382af8d874f428ad8660e47984665/3/0">Associated Press</a>Russian billionaire Yuri Milner holds up a Starshot "Sprite" during an April 12, 2016, press conference in New York.</div></div></div>Milner's fascination with space and <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> runs deep.The first man in space was cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin - who Milner <a href="http://time.com/3964238/yuri-milner-breakthrough-listen/">has said</a> he was named after.Milner has also spent big money on science initiatives before, <a href="http://time.com/3964238/yuri-milner-breakthrough-listen/">saying he wants to celebrate</a> "intellectual achievement" in the same way we celebrate artistic and athletic prowess.The Russian billionaire philanthropist has collaborated with Hawking in the past - in July 2015, the two announced a $100 million plan, called "<a href="http://www.techinsider.io/milners-100-million-search-for-aliens-2015-7">Breakthrough Listen</a>," to search the stars for intelligent extraterrestrial life.Milner was working on a PhD in physics before he became a Silicon Valley investor. He earned his fortune investing in companies like Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, and Groupon.Today he funds some of the biggest science prizes out there, including the Breakthrough Prize, which Mark Zuckerberg also supports.Kevin Loria and Lauren Friedman contributed to this post. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/starshot-launching-tiny-robots-nearest-star-alpha-centauri-2016-4">How these laser-propelled robots could bring us to a star 25 trillion miles away</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="JwcmtzMjE62UOoiv4Vw4S-kom9OujD1H" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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