Space X

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India’s lunar rover goes down a ramp to the moon’s surface and takes a walk

NEW DELHI (AP) — A lunar rover slid down a ramp from the lander of India’s spacecraft within hours of its historic touch-down near the moon’s south pole, Indian space officials said Thursday, as the country celebrated its new scientific accomplishment.

https://apnews.com/article/india-moon-landing-experiments-f804d29af85f3f3651400cb700c164f7?

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Space mission

 

The European Space Agency will slingshot a spacecraft around Earth today on its way to Jupiter. The Juice, or Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, spacecraft — launched in April 2023 — is conducting the first flyby of the moon and Earth in succession and the first double gravity assist maneuver. This process will serve as a slingshot, allowing Earth's gravity to put the brakes on Juice's current trajectory and set it on track to arrive at Jupiter and its moons in July 2031. Juice already flew by Earth's moon on Monday and is now expected to zip by Earth today at 5:57 p.m. ET. The space agency will provide tracking of the spacecraft, and some people with binoculars or telescopes in Southeast Asia may be able to see Juice as it flies directly overhead.

[phkrause]

For European astronauts, this place in Germany is the next best thing to the moon

COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Donning heavy spacesuits and visors to protect them from sunlight, astronauts Thomas Pesquet of France and Matthias Maurer of Germany, accompanied by their trusty canine robot, move slowly on what looks like the lunar surface.

https://apnews.com/article/european-space-agency-esa-space-artemis-0c27c98f81a007450f88d8e8d1d676cc?

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India space mission

India launched its first space docking mission Monday on an Indian-made rocket, in an attempt to become the fourth country to achieve the advanced technological feat. The mission, called Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), was deemed successful after the spacecraft reached an altitude of nearly 300 miles. It is seen as pivotal for future space endeavors, including satellite servicing and the operation of the country's planned space station. The testing of this particular docking technology could take place in about a week, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation said. A successful demonstration would place India alongside the US, Russia and China as the only countries to have developed and tested such capability.