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Ephemeris: 11/28/2023 – The new Moon Race

November 28, 2023 Comments off

This is Bob Moler with Ephemeris for Tuesday, November 28th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 8 minutes, setting at 5:05, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:57. The Moon, 1 day past full, will rise at 5:47 this evening.

Now, in the third decade of the 21st century, 50 years since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, there’s now a big rush by many nations and some private companies to send missions to the moon, with orbiters and landers. The biggest and most expensive project is the United States Artemis project which has launched one of the SLS rockets to the moon and will send another one probably later next year in preparation for a landing, in a year or two after that. Earlier this year India successfully landed a probe on the Moon with a rover for less cost that it would take Hollywood to make a movie about it. They are making noises about sending a manned mission to the moon by 2040. Stay tuned, we have an exciting decade of lunar exploration coming up.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT –5 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Vikram lander photographed by the Pragyan Rover
Vikram Lander photographed by the Pragyan Rover. Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Pragyan Rover trundles onto the lunar surface after leaving the ramp from the Vikram Lander. Credit: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Categories: Ephemeris Program, ISRO, NASA Tags: , ,

09/10/2019 – Ephemeris – India’s second lunar spacecraft

September 10, 2019 Comments off

Ephemeris for Tuesday, September 10th. Today the Sun will be up for 12 hours and 47 minutes, setting at 8:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:16. The Moon, 4 days before full, will set at 4:29 tomorrow morning.

On July 22nd the Indian Space Research Organization ISRO launched Chandrayaan-2, their second mission to the Moon. India’s Chandrayaan-1 was a lunar orbiter launched 11 years ago. Chandrayaan-2 is much more ambitious spacecraft with an orbiter, a lander with a rover. Last Friday the lander attempted to land within 30 degrees of the Moon’s south pole. Unfortunately contact was lost when the lander was only 2.1 kilometers above the lunar surface. The last data received suggests that the lander’s vertical speed was excessive, and that it likely crashed on the lunar surface. This is the second failed lunar landing attempt this year after the Israeli Beresheet failure in April.

The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Chanrrayaan's Vikram lander and Pragyan rover

Chanrrayaan’s Vikram lander and Pragyan rover. before launch. The orbiter, not shown, is expected to have a 7 year life. The orbiter has viewed the landing site and has shown that the lander is in one piece. Credit ISRO.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, ISRO, The Moon