Recent Moon landings

[lpetrich]

Recently, two nations have landed spacecraft on the Moon, one successfully, and one a failure.  List of missions to the Moon

Russia's first lunar mission in 47 years smashes into the moon in failure | Reuters
 Luna 25 ("Moon 25")
It was launched on 10 August 2023 and it entered lunar orbit on 16 August, with an expected landing date of 21 August. From Wikipedia,

On 19 August, Roscosmos declared an "abnormal situation" after commanding the lander to move into a pre-landing orbit.[32][33] According to Director General of Roscosmos Yuri Borisov, a maneuvering engine could not be shut down, and ran for 127 seconds instead of 84.[34] The lander crashed on the lunar surface following the failed maneuver,[11][35][36] which created a trajectory that intersected with the Moon instead of a planned elliptical orbit with a minimum distance of 18km.[37]

Roscosmos said that it had lost contact with the spacecraft 47 minutes after the start of the engine firing.[38] Attempts on 19 and 20 August to locate and re-establish contact with the spacecraft were unsuccessful,[36] and a commission was formed to investigate the crash.[36]

The LRO camera team located the likely location of the impact crater, after an estimate was published by Russian researchers. The crash site is situated on the steep inner rim of the Pontécoulant G crater, which is only 400 kilometers short of Luna 25’s intended landing point if it did attempt a landing procedure.[39]

 

[lpetrich]

India, however, has successfully landed a spacecraft on the Moon, though it currently has trouble with that spacecraft. The  Chandrayaan-3 ("Moon Vehicle 3") spacecraft was launched on 14 July 2023, and it entered lunar orbit on 5 August. On 17 August, its Vikram lander separated from its propulsion module, and on 23 August, the lander landed on the Moon near its south pole. The lander then released its Pragyan rover, and that rover then traveled several meters over the next few days, avoiding a crater that it encountered along the way.

Chandrayaan-3: What has India's Moon rover Pragyaan been up to since landing? - BBC News

Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander - carrying a rover in its belly - touched down on the lunar soil after a 20-minute, nail-biting finale watched by millions of people across the world.

Hours later, the Pragyaan rover - Pragyaan is the Sanskrit word for wisdom - exited the lander and took its first steps on the Moon.

LIBS confirms the presence of Sulphur (S) on the lunar surface through unambiguous in-situ measurements

Preliminary analyses, graphically represented, have unveiled the presence of Aluminum (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), and Titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface. Further measurements have revealed the presence of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), and oxygen (O). Thorough investigation regarding the presence of Hydrogen is underway.

No estimates of concentration. Sulfur is interesting because it is relatively volatile, and volatiles are rare on the Moon.

The others are typical elements in rocks -- metals, silicon, and oxygen -- because rocks are mostly metal silicates.

Applied Sciences | Free Full-Text | Elemental Abundances of Moon Samples Based on Statistical Distributions of Analytical Data

[1912.00844] Solar Elemental Abundances - with comparison to meteorites' element abundances

 Abundances of the elements (data page)

 

[lpetrich]

Back in 2019, India did a similar mission,  Chandrayaan-2 but its lander crashed.

Returning to Chandrayaan-3,
India tries waking up Chandrayaan-3 moon lander, without success (so far) | Space

In the two weeks that followed, Pragyan explored the landing site, beaming images back to Earth, while Vikram performed a set of scientific experiments including measuring the temperature of the top layer of the lunar regolith. The probe also analyzed the chemical composition of the lunar dust and found traces of sulfur, which might hold clues to past volcanic activity.

The Pragyan rover was put to sleep on Sept. 2, when all of its instruments were turned off. The Vikram lander followed suit two days later. The mission completed its primary mission goals, but ISRO hopes that the two spacecraft may have been able to survive the frosty lunar night.

Will India's Chandrayaan-3 probes survive the lunar night? | Space

Chandrayaan 3, ISRO, Lander Vikram, Rover Pragyan, Explained: What Happens If Chandrayaan-3 Rover, Lander Don't Wake Up

But shortly before it was put into hibernation mode, the lander was commanded to take off briefly before landing again.
ISRO on X: "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: ..." / X

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
Vikram soft-landed on , again!

Vikram Lander exceeded its mission objectives. It successfully underwent a hop experiment.

On command, it fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected and landed safely at a distance of 30 – 40 cm away.

Importance?: This 'kick-start' enthuses future sample return and human missions!

All systems performed nominally and are healthy. Deployed Ramp, ChaSTE and ILSA were folded back and redeployed successfully after the experiment.

#Chandrayaan_3
#Ch3

Seems like a preparation for a sample-return mission.

 

[lpetrich]

 Chang'e 3 - Chinese Moon lander in 2013 that released  Yutu (rover)
("Moon goddess 3", "Jade Rabbit")

 Chang'e 4 - Chinese Moon lander in 2019 that landed on the far side of the Moon and released rover  Yutu-2

 Chang'e 5 - Chinese Moon lander in 2020 that sent some 1,731 g (61.1 oz) of Moon material back to the Earth.

 Smart Lander for Investigating Moon - Japanese Moon lander launched on 7 September.

Japan launches 'moon sniper' lunar lander SLIM into space | Reuters

Dubbed the "moon sniper", Japan aims to land SLIM within 100 metres of its target site on the lunar surface. The $100-million mission is expected to start the landing by February after a long, fuel-efficient approach trajectory.

"The big objective of SLIM is to prove the high-accuracy landing ... to achieve 'landing where we want' on the lunar surface, rather than 'landing where we can'," JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa told a news conference.

Moon Sniper: Japan launches Slim probe on precision landing mission | The moon | The Guardian

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (Slim) got its Sniper nickname because it is designed to land within 100 metres of a specific target on the surface – much less than the usual range of several kilometres.

 

[lpetrich]

Chandrayaan-3 Details

The rover contains two instruments for doing chemical assays:

1. LASER Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) - Qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis & To derive the chemical Composition and infer mineralogical composition to further our understanding of Lunar-surface.
2. Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) - To determine the elemental composition (Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe) of Lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site.

I'd like to see some numbers for the sulfur, and how those numbers compare to other samples' amounts. Hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen are some other volatiles to look for -- some meteorites have compositions almost identical to the Sun's except for lithium (more), hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and the noble gases (less).

 

[bilby]

Sulfur is interesting because it is relatively volatile

Oxygen is even more volatile. But Sulphur and Oxygen both form non-volatile compounds with the various metallic elements listed, so I am assuming that the Sulphur and Oxygen they're reporting are bound up in compounds of various kinds - Oxides, Sulphides, and maybe Sulphates or Sulphites.

Maybe the Lunar south pole is a rich source of fool's gold.

 

[lpetrich]

Yes, oxygen by itself is very volatile, but it forms some very refractory compounds with silicon and metals.

Carbon is the opposite, refractory by itself, but forming some very volatile compounds with some other elements, like hydrogen and oxygen.

 

[Swammerdami]

Maybe the Lunar south pole is a rich source of fool's gold.

According to Nick Lane et al, iron-sulfur compounds were common in the underwater vents where the earliest life evolved, and the iron-sulfur pairings served as a very key catalyst. Life "remembers" this origin and many enzymes -- e.g. ferredoxins -- incorporate such iron-sulfur pairings at their catalytic centers. (IIUC, iron is no longer so common in the underwater vents because so much of the ocean's iron has been oxidized.)

(Note that, just as "color" is preferred to "colour," the spelling "sulfur" is now preferred over "sulphur." We have more nuclear weapons than the subjects of Charles III have; FRBNY is still the clearing-house for the world's banking; and millions of people agree that Donald Trump is the greatest human being since the Lord Jesus of Nazareth.)

 

[bilby]

Note that, just as "color" is preferred to "colour," the spelling "sulfur" is now preferred over "sulphur."

Then use the variant you prefer.

I shall continue to use the variant I prefer, unless and until Donald Trump decides to nuke me.

 

[Tigers!]

(Note that, just as "color" is preferred to "colour," the spelling "sulfur" is now preferred over "sulphur."

Labour vs. Labor
Telephone vs. telefone
And so the lexiographical war continues.

We have more nuclear weapons than the subjects of Charles III have;

Why is that necessarily a source of pride?

FRBNY is still the clearing-house for the world's banking; and

millions of people agree that Donald Trump is the greatest human being since the Lord Jesus of Nazareth.)

 

[Elixir]

I shall continue to use the variant I prefer, unless and until Donald Trump decides to nuke me.

You say that now, but you’ll change your tune once the Trump nukes are in the air!

 

[Swammerdami]

My ancestors were subjects of the Famous King James of the Two Numbers. Even before he got his Second Number.

I've been told I've inherited from my ancestors, the notorious "Scottish sense of humour."

(Note that, just as "color" is preferred to "colour," the spelling "sulfur" is now preferred over "sulphur."

Labour vs. Labor
Telephone vs. telefone
And so the lexiographical war continues.

We have more nuclear weapons than the subjects of Charles III have;

Why is that necessarily a source of pride?

FRBNY is still the clearing-house for the world's banking; and

millions of people agree that Donald Trump is the greatest human being since the Lord Jesus of Nazareth.)

Did neither you nor bilby realize my post (or rather the parenthetical comment about spelling, nukes, and the successor to the Baby Jesus) was totally "tongue in cheek"?

But just for the record, wiktionary.org doesn't appear reluctant to drop nukes on all you sulphurists:

This is the traditional popular spelling in the UK and India, and an alternative spelling in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. However, it is considered non-standard in scientific contexts, as the IUPAC has only approved the spelling sulfur.

 

[thebeave]

Wow...you guys are falling behind. It took 7 posts before Trump's name came up in this thread about spacecraft landing on the moon. Try to do better next time.

 

[Elixir]

Wow...you guys are falling behind. It took 7 posts before Trump's name came up in this thread about spacecraft landing on the moon. Try to do better next time.

Great point! Especially since Agent Orange single-handedly created the Space Farce.
He should have been the main feature of this (and every other) thread, from post#1. And everything else. Just ask him.

 

[lpetrich]

 Peregrine Mission One
Lunar Landers | Astrobotic Technology
Peregrine Mission 1 (TO2-AB) | NASA
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander burns up over Pacific Ocean | CNN - January 18, 2024

The Peregrine lander launched January 8 atop a Vulcan Centaur rocket, a new vehicle developed by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

The launch went off without a hitch, safely delivering the Peregrine lander into Earth’s orbit on a path toward the moon. If the spacecraft had been successful in reaching the lunar surface, it would have been the first US mission to soft-land on the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

But hours into its solo flight, the Peregrine lander encountered critical setbacks. Astrobotic confirmed the spacecraft suffered a severe issue with its onboard propulsion systems and was leaking fuel, leaving the lander without enough gas to make a soft touchdown on the moon.

Astrobotic then shifted course. The company directed the spacecraft to operate more like a satellite, testing its onboard scientific instruments and other systems as it flew thousands of miles through the void.

Ultimately, Astrobotic determined that it would dispose of the vehicle by crashing it into Earth’s atmosphere at high speeds.

Astrobotic’s Peregrine Moon Lander Burns Up in Earth’s Atmosphere - The New York Times - Jan. 18, 2024 - "The Astrobotic Peregrine spacecraft launched last week for a lunar landing, but a propulsion malfunction left it unable to complete its mission."

 

[robnisch]

(Note that, just as "color" is preferred to "colour," the spelling "sulfur" is now preferred over "sulphur."

Labour vs. Labor
Telephone vs. telefone
And so the lexiographical war continues.

We have more nuclear weapons than the subjects of Charles III have;

Why is that necessarily a source of pride?

FRBNY is still the clearing-house for the world's banking; and

millions of people agree that Donald Trump is the greatest human being since the Lord Jesus of Nazareth.)

Little quibble, it would be an orthographic war.

 

[Tigers!]

With all these vehicles on the moon now it is getting dangerous to cross the surface.

 

[Elixir]

With all these vehicles on the moon now it is getting dangerous to cross the surface.

If you’re patient, the light will change.

 

[ideologyhunter]

And remember, it gets twice as crowded during half moon.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

With all these vehicles on the moon now it is getting dangerous to cross the surface.

Actually, what's dangerous is being there during a landing (or an ascent if there is one). A rocket can yeet lunar bits hard enough to throw them about anywhere.