16th January 2025 (15 Topics)
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Two Lunar Missions Launched on One Rocket
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying two spacecraft aimed at landing on the Moon. These spacecraft are built by private companies from the US and Japan, showing how the private sector is playing a bigger role in space exploration.
What’s on the Rocket?
- Blue Ghost (by Firefly Aerospace, USA)
- Destination: A spot on the Moon called Mons Latreille, near Mare Crisium (Moon’s northeast).
- Mission: It will study things like the Moon’s dust, interior, and thermal properties. It will also carry NASA instruments to study Earth's magnetosphere (the protective magnetic field around Earth).
- Journey Time: It will take about 45 days to reach the Moon.
- Resilience (by ispace, Japan)
- Destination: Mare Frigoris, a region in the Moon’s far north.
- Mission: It will deploy a rover called Tenacious that has a high-definition camera and can scoop up Moon dust. It will also carry a small art piece called "Moonhouse" by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg.
- Journey Time: It will take around 4-5 months to reach the Moon.
The Challenges of Landing on the Moon
- Landing on the Moon is tricky because there’s no atmosphere to help slow the spacecraft down. The spacecraft must use thrusters to gently land. They also need to land upright to be able to operate properly. Past missions have faced problems with landing angles, which limited how well they could work after landing.
- These missions are part of the new era of space exploration, where private companies and countries work together to explore the Moon and beyond.
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