2013 Russian-Indian lunar lander and rover

[JonClarke]

Reads like it will land near the poles but not in darkness.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10960409

 

[JonClarke]

So, one week and 63 views later not one person thinks the first lunar landing in nearly 40 years not worth commenting on?



I think this is going to be a fantastic, historic mission.

 

[rfoshaug]

This is interesting indeed! There's a space race going on in the East. I just hope they'll have live HD video feed from the landing and roving.

I don't know anything about the next human to walk on the moon, but I'm starting to think it will not be an American.

 

[JonClarke]

This is interesting indeed! There's a space race going on in the East. I just hope they'll have live HD video feed from the landing and roving.

I don't know anything about the next human to walk on the moon, but I'm starting to think it will not be an American.

"Space race" is a journalistic expression used by media types who can't conceive of space exploration in anything other than those terms. There is no race, but there is increased interest and activity from Asian countries, which is good. It is also great to see Russian space exploration starting up again.

It would be rather cool if the next person on the Moon were Chinese, but it won't be for another 15 years at least, I suspect.

 

[Gravity_Ray]

Glad to see more interest developing for chemical exploration of the Moon's water specifically and more interest in developing a space flight process in Asia generally. It can only be helpful to all nations if more information is gleamed about the whereabouts of the water on the Moon and its composition.

To be honest I am not that sure this will succeed. First of all the Indians although technically capable have not proved that they are behind something like a space program as a nation. They have had more failures than success. However, nothing will get the Indian government going than some perceived race with China. So who knows this may turn out to be more serious.

I am still predicting that the next man made item to land on the Moon will be made in USA from the Google X prize competition.

However, I would be very happy and congratulatory to India, Russia, or China if they do it first.

 

[kg]

Interesting to see that it will be launched from an Indian rocket. I would have guessed that the Russians would have chipped in a rocket in the deal. A bit sad to hear about a rivalry between Russia/India and China. Would there be better results if they all just cooperated?

 

[silylene]

Jon, I think it is very interesting. Such a tiny rover, however, nothing like the earlier generation Lunakhods. It's only 5kg heavier than Sojourner.

 

[orionrider]

Maybe they are competing for the next x-prize? :lol:

It seems to me many ambitious missions are coming from the east these days. After Hayabusa, we get this new lunar race and then the Fobos-Grunt trip. Hope they can deliver.

 

[JonClarke]

Jon, I think it is very interesting. Such a tiny rover, however, nothing like the earlier generation Lunakhods. It's only 5kg heavier than Sojourner.

Indeed it is tiny and presumably less capable. Presumably it is a much smaller lander too, launched by Soyuz rather than Proton.

But instrumentaltion is much more minaturised too, and 15 kg can still carry an interesting paykoad, as Sojourner showed, and we are 15 years further down the track.

 

[JonClarke]

Maybe they are competing for the next x-prize? :lol:

It seems to me many ambitious missions are coming from the east these days. After Hayabusa, we get this new lunar race and then the Fobos-Grunt trip. Hope they can deliver.

I thibnk they will. Phobos Grunt is pretty much ready to go apparently for the 2011 window.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Phobos-Grunt thread:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20043

 

[jumpjack2]

Subscribed an waiting for news.

 

[XCygon]

New Moon Mission: Chandrayaan-2 Payloads Selected

Proposed flight plan for the Chandrayaan-2 mission. Credit: ISRO
Seven instruments will be aboard India's second unmanned mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-2, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced today. The mission, which is a cooperative effort between ISRO and the Russian Federal Space Agency, will include an orbiter, a lander and a rover, which officials hope will launch in 2013. The instruments will study the Moon in a variety of wavelengths, and there will be five instruments on the orbiter and two on the rover. They include:
For the orbiter:1. Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS) and Solar X-ray monitor (XSM) for mapping major elements present on the lunar surface.2. L and S band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which will probe the first few tens of meters of the lunar surface for the presence of different constituents, including water ice. SAR is expected to provide further evidence confirming the presence of water ice below the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon.3. Imaging IR Spectrometer (IIRS) will map the lunar surface over a wide wavelength range for the study of minerals, water molecules and hydroxyl present.4. Neutral Mass Spectrometer (ChACE-2) to carry out a detailed study of the lunar exosphere.5. Terrain Mapping Camera-2 (TMC-2)to create a three-dimensional map essential for studying the lunar mineralogy and geology.For the rover:1. Laser induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS).2. Alpha Particle Induced X-ray Spectroscope (APIXS).Both those instruments are expected to carry out elemental analysis of the lunar surface near the landing site.ISRO didn’t rule out adding addition payloads later "if possible within the mission constraints,” they said in a statement.The lander is being built by Russia, while the orbiter and rover are being built by ISRO.Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft weighs about 2,650 kg at lift-off of which the orbiter's weight is about 1,400 kg and lander about 1,250 kg. It will be launched onboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, in India.Chandrayaan-1 was an extremely successful mission that lasted 10 –months until the orbiter experienced communications and navigation problems in August 2009, abruptly ending the mission. Data from the 11 instruments on Chandrayaan-1 are still being analyzed, but have already contributed to finding water and hydroxyl across the Moon’s surface and water ice in craters on the lunar poles.

Source:- http://www.universetoday.com/72427/new-moon-mission-chandrayaan-2-payloads-selected/#more-72427

 

[EarthlingX]

english.ruvr.ru : Russian scientists pick landing sites for future lunar missions

Nov 16, 2010 18:19 Moscow Time

Russian scientists have picked moon landing sites for modules of the future Russian lunar stations - Luna-Resource and Luna-Globe, Alexander Bazilevsky, a researcher at the Vernadsky Institute said at a press conference marking the 40th anniversary of the first Soviet Lunokhod moon rover.

Luna-Globe will launch a landing platform to one of the Moon’s poles where water ice has been detected. A special drilling apparatus will collect and analyze soil samples.

Luna-Resource, a Russian-Indian project, will deliver an Indian moon rover to the Earth’s satellite.

Anatoly Zak :
http://www.russianspaceweb.com : Luna-Resurs

Above: The Chandrayaan-2/Resurs-2 lander (left) and the Luna-Glob lander as of August 2010. Credit: IKI / NPO Lavochkin

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A launch configuration of the Luna-Resurs (Chandrayaan-2) mission with a Russian-built lander and a rover and an Indian-built lunar orbiter launched by a single Indian rocket.

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A depiction of a Chandrayaan-2 orbiter as of October 2010. Credit: IKI

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http://www.russianspaceweb.com : Luna-Glob

Above: The architecture of the Luna-Glob lander as of August 2010. The soil-sampling robotic arm can be seen on left. An additional surface-drilling hardware could be included. Credit: IKI / NPO Lavochkin

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http://www.russianspaceweb.com : Luna-Grunt

Above: The Lunokhod (lunar rover) vehicle (left) and the Earth return vehicle -- both shown in launch configuration -- would comprise the Luna-Grunt mission.

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http://www.russianspaceweb.com : Lunny Poligon

Above: Key elements of the Lunny Poligon concept. Credit: NPO Lavochkin

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[EarthlingX]

www.federalspace.ru : Russian Scientists Pick Landing Sites for Lunar Stations

:: 18.11.2010

Russian scientists have already selected the landing sites for Luna-Resource and Luna-Glob stations, official of Russian Geochemistry Institute told RIA Novosti.
First, the scientists picked 14 places where ice surface is expected. Eventually, only two were selected from the safety point of view.
Luna-Glob is planned to land on the polar region of the Moon and use a penetrator to study regolith. The hardware for the mission is built in Space Research Institute.
Both Luna-Glob and Luna-Resource are equipped with beacons, in order for the future lunar soil return mission to have a target for landing.

 

[aaron38]

So, one week and 63 views later not one person thinks the first lunar landing in nearly 40 years not worth commenting on?

No, it isn't, not really. Not given what we're capable of.

A couple weeks ago a liberal environmental blog was cheering the fact that the Illinois Gov. mansion was going to install a whopping 1kW solar panel on the roof, and they were expecting heaps of praise for that "accomplishment". But considering that a handful of us college kids built an 8kW array from scratch 15 years ago, including inventing the power electronics, that it took an army of contractors and special interest kickbacks for one lousy kW deserves scorn, not praise. We're moving backwards scientifically and industrially.

Same deal here. 40 years later and all that can be managed is a 35kg science payload and 15kg rover? That's a joke right? That little rover is going to look at 2 bone dry rocks before it gets stuck in the dust.

We don't need a technology demonstrator proving the concept. The concept was proven before I was born. Land a real bulldozer that can do real digging and real science, or don't bother.

 

[orionrider]

Aaron, you are just not fair.

Maybe space probes are smaller today because we can make them smaller and cheaper, which was not the case in the age of vacuum electron tubes. :roll:
Besides, you have to consider the huge acheivement it is for India. It may be the largest democracy in the world, but it aint't the richest...

40 years later and all that can be managed is a 35kg science payload and 15kg rover?

It may be only 35kg, but I believe it is 35kg more than what Nasa has at the moment, $20B space budget and all...
You shouldn't compare a third world country with the US.

 

[JonClarke]

So, one week and 63 views later not one person thinks the first lunar landing in nearly 40 years not worth commenting on?

No, it isn't, not really. Not given what we're capable of.

A couple weeks ago a liberal environmental blog was cheering the fact that the Illinois Gov. mansion was going to install a whopping 1kW solar panel on the roof, and they were expecting heaps of praise for that "accomplishment". But considering that a handful of us college kids built an 8kW array from scratch 15 years ago, including inventing the power electronics, that it took an army of contractors and special interest kickbacks for one lousy kW deserves scorn, not praise. We're moving backwards scientifically and industrially.

Bizzare. I have 1.5 kW on my roof and I don't live in a mansion. It reduced my power bill by 42% last quarter and it is one of thousands in my town installed by commerical contractors.

40 years later and all that can be managed is a 35kg science payload and 15kg rover? That's a joke right?

No a joke, that isa good science payload, in terms of actual instruments. An 15 kg rover can carry several instruments and do lots of useful stuff.

That little rover is going to look at 2 bone dry rocks before it gets stuck in the dust.

What makes you think it will get stuck inthe dust after looking at two rocks?

We don't need a technology demonstrator proving the concept. The concept was proven before I was born. Land a real bulldozer that can do real digging and real science, or don't bother.

This lander and rover will do real science, don't worry. It will be the first time we will get any ground truth from the lunar poles. You don't need a bulldozer to do that.

 

[silylene]

Above: Key elements of the Lunny Poligon concept. Credit: NPO Lavochkin

This project is looking more and more interesting. I sure hope it gets fully funded.

 

[EarthlingX]

It has very good chances atm with Russia constantly increasing space budget over the last 10 years and decent support for space related activities from both Medvedev and Putin.

Here's a map of currently selected landing locations with a description of process leading to their selection, updated Nov.19th :

http://www.russianspaceweb.com : Choosing the landing site

Above: Topography and lighting conditions at possible landing sites of the Luna-Resurs mission.

Having settled on the southern polar regions of the Moon as the primary destination of the Luna-Resurs mission, Russian scientists embarked on a difficult process of selecting its exact landing site. On Nov. 10, 2010, Laboratory for Comparative Planetology at Vernadsky geochemistry institute, GEOKhI, submitted a report to Space Research Institute, IKI, on the preliminary search for the potential landing sites for the Luna-Resurs mission. Within days, this information was also transferred to NPO Lavochkin, the prime developer of the spacecraft.

In the telephone interview with the editor of this web site, Aleksandr Basilevsky, the Head of Laboratory for Comparative Planetology at Vernadsky Geochemistry Institute, GEOKhI, said that information from American and Japanese spacecraft helped to select landing sites for Luna-Resurs.

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