Category Man and the Moon

          The Indian Space Research Organisation, popularly known as the ISRO heads India’s space research. ISRO is headquartered at Bangalore. K. Sivan currently serves as the chairman of ISRO.

          ISRO aims at harnessing space technology for national development. It was set up 50 years ago in 1969; the same year Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon. ISRO is credited with the milestones in Indian space research like the first satellite, the first rocket, and the first satellite launch vehicle. The notable achievements of ISRO include the launch of lunar orbiter Chandrayaan 1 launched in 2008, and the Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as Mangalyaan launched in 2013. ISRO recently launched Chandrayaan 2, its second lunar mission. The future endeavours of ISRO include the development of a reusable launch vehicle, human spaceflight, a space station, and a solar spacecraft mission.

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          The Lunar Prospector was a part of NASA’s Discovery Programme, a series of low cost space missions to explore the solar system. It was designed over 19 months in order to carry out a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon. Its objectives were to map the surface composition of the Moon including polar ice deposits, to measure magnetic and gravitational fields, and to study other lunar phenomena.

          A detailed map of the surface composition of the Moon was made from the data obtained from the Lunar Prospector. After gathering necessary information about the presence of water ice in the poles, the Lunar Prospector was deliberately crashed into a crater near the lunar South Pole.

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          After the 1970s, the Moon was largely left unexplored till the 1990s. Moon exploration began again in the 1990s with the US sending three probes that took new pictures and explored the lunar surface with more scientifically advanced instruments.

          The orbiter Galileo passed by the Moon twice in 1990 and 1992, while taking a roundabout path to Jupiter. In 1994, Clementine orbited the Moon. Four years later, Lunar Prospector was placed in the orbit around the Moon. Both Clementine and Lunar Prospector returned with evidences of the presence of water on the lunar surface, something that scientists had long believed existed. However, when the Lunar Prospector crashed onto the surface of the Moon in 1999, it failed to detect the presence of water in the debris.

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          Apollo 17 was the last spacecraft of NASA’s Apollo mission. It was launched in December, 1972. Commanded by Eugene Cernan, the crew consisted of Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt.

          Apollo 17 also carried out biological experiments on five mice- Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum and Phooey. These five mice travelled from the Earth along with the astronauts and circled the Moon 75 times! Radiation monitors were implanted under their scalp to see whether they would suffer any damage from cosmic rays. One of the mice died while the other four were either killed or dissected for further studies upon their return.

          Cernan and Schmitt landed on the Moon, completed three moonwalks, and collected lunar samples that would give evidences of volcanic activity in lunar highlands.

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          Apollo 13 was the third mission aimed at landing on the Moon and was launched on April 11, 1970. Unfortunately, one of the oxygen tanks in the service module exploded. This happened because of the explosion of the fuel cell tank that resulted in the loss of power and oxygen. An insulation wire inside the tank was damaged which led to the explosion. Therefore, the crew had to cancel the plan to land on the Moon. However, they orbited around the Moon and returned safe on April 17, 1970.

          Apollo 13 was commanded by Jim Lovell and the crew included Jack Swigert and Fred Haise.

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          We know about the humans who landed on the Moon for the first time. But who was the first one to drive a lunar rover? David Scott and James Irwin, the crew of Apollo 15 are credited with this remarkable achievement.

          Apollo 15 was the fourth spacecraft to land on the Moon. It stayed on the Moon for a longer time than the other spacecraft and had a sharper scientific objective. David Scott and James Irwin landed near Hadley Rill. They travelled further from the lunar module with the help of a lunar rover and surveyed the local area. They spent eighteen and a half hours on the surface of the Moon, collecting almost 77 kilograms of surface material. While David and James explored the lunar surface, Alfred Worden, the Command Module Pilot orbited the Moon to collect data.

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          Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had to take the help of a lunar module, a special landing vehicle to descend to the Moon. This was because the mother ship, the main spacecraft travelled too fast. Once the mother ship entered the lunar orbit, the astronauts got into the lunar module and separated from the main craft. Their lunar module was named Eagle.

          Eagle had spidery legs; they cushioned the landing and could be folded while in flight. They also had footpads that prevented them from sinking into the lunar soil. The body of the Eagle was covered in golden foil. This was done in order to protect it from the Sun’s heat.

         Eagle comprised of two parts; the top, known as the ascent stage carried the astronauts while the descent stage at the bottom carried the scientific equipment. The ascent stage also had navigation control, communications, life support, environmental control, electric power and propulsion system. The additional electric power, water and oxygen for the ascent stage was stored in the descent stage.

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           Even after half a century, Apollo 11 is remembered with great pride not only by the Americans but the whole of humanity. Apollo 11 made it possible for America, to fulfil a dream that it had cherished for years, and a mission that no one had attempted before – to leave human footprints on the Moon.

          It was July 20, 1969. Apollo 11 travelled 3,84,400 kilometres in space carrying three astronauts and landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong was the first to step on the Moon. He was followed by Buzz Aldrin while Michael Collins controlled the system. “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” This was what Neil Armstrong said immediately after setting foot on the Moon.

          With Apollo 11, America succeeded in taking man to the Moon and back safely, thus accomplishing the national goal set by President John F Kennedy. It also conducted the scientific exploration of the lunar surface and deployed a camera to transmit signals to the Earth.

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          Apollo was a three-part spacecraft that consisted of a command module, service module and a lunar module. The command module or the CM contained the crew’s quarters and the flight control section.

          It contained all the necessary commands and instruments to operate the spacecraft and to return to the Earth. The CM was in fact the only part that returned to the Earth and the astronauts were provided with reclining couches, specially fitted for them.

          The Apollo spacecraft’s service module or the SM carried the rocket engine that could be started or stopped whenever needed. The SM held the spacecraft’s electrical power system. It also contained the fuel. The third part known as the lunar module, or the LM, took the crew to the surface of the Moon. This module also provided the astronauts with the necessary support on the Moon and returned them to the command module.

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          Launched in October 1968, Apollo 7 is credited with the first manned flight; it is the first mission in the Apollo programme to carry a crew into space.

          In fact, Apollo 1 was intended to take the first astronauts into space. Unfortunately, its cabin caught fire in one of the test flights, killing the crew. This happened in January 1967. NASA then banned all manned flights until the reason for the fire was found out. Safety measures were improved after the investigations and Apollo 7 was launched after that.

          Commanded by Walter M Schirra, Apollo 7 was a complete success which gave NASA enough confidence to launch Apollo 8.

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