3rd Lunar mission in 15 years! Moon truly beckons ISRO
Bengaluru (PTI): Three Lunar missions in 15 years! It seems the Moon truly beckons ISRO. And why not? Scientists found frozen water deposits in the darkest and coldest parts of the Moon's polar regions for the first time using data from the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in 2009.
Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the Moon, was launched on October 22, 2008 from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.
The spacecraft, carrying 11 scientific instruments built in India, the USA, the UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria, orbited around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon.
After the successful completion of all the major mission objectives, the orbit was raised to 200 km in May 2009. The satellite made more than 3,400 orbits around the Moon.
The orbiter mission, which had a mission life of two years, was, however, prematurely aborted after communication with the spacecraft was lost on August 29, 2009.
"Chandrayaan-1 achieved 95 per cent of its objectives," said the then ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair.
And a decade later, Chandrayaan-2, comprising an orbiter, lander and rover, was successfully launched on July 22, 2019.
The objectives of the country's second mission to the Moon were scientific studies by payloads onboard the orbiter, and technology demonstration of soft landing and roving on the lunar surface.
Most of the components of technology demonstration, including the launch, orbital critical manoeuvres, lander separation, de-boost and rough braking phase were successfully accomplished.
However, the lander with a rover in its belly crash-landed on the lunar surface in the final lap, failing in its objective to touch down gently.
"We narrowly missed it (soft landing on the Moon in Chandrayaan-2 mission) in the last two km (above the lunar surface)," Nair had told PTI on Monday.
However, all the eight scientific instruments of the orbiter, which had separated from the lander and rover, are performing as per design and providing valuable scientific data.
Due to the precise launch and orbital manoeuvres, the mission life of the orbiter increased to seven years, according to ISRO.
In fact, ISRO on Monday said that two-way communication between the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and the Chandrayaan-3 lunar module has been established.
Moreover, the discovery of water on the Moon in 2009 was a hugely significant event, following which scientists, using data from an instrument which flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, created the first map of water trapped in the uppermost layer of the Moon's soil. It would prove useful to future lunar explorers, ISRO officials said.
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, builds on the initial discovery in 2009 of water and a related ion hydroxyl, which consists of one atom each of hydrogen and oxygen in lunar soil.
Scientists from Brown University in the US used a new calibration of data taken from NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, which flew aboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in 2008, to quantify how much water is present on a global scale.
Using data collected by India's Chandrayaan-1 mission, NASA has detected magmatic water locked under the surface of the Moon.
The findings represent the first remote detection of this form of water that originates from deep within the Moon's interior, NASA researchers had said.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
