India Prepares Moon Landing after Failed Russian Attempt
2023-08-22
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1India will soon attempt to land a spacecraft on the point farthest south on the moon, its south pole.
2The attempt comes just days after the failure of a Russian moon lander.
3India's space agency on Monday released images its spacecraft captured on the far side of the moon.
4That is the part of the moon that cannot be seen from Earth.
5The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the spacecraft called the Chandrayaan-3.
6ISRO had been in a race with Russia to be the first national space agency to land on the lunar south pole.
7The area is thought to hold water ice that could support a future moon settlement.
8As news of the failure of Russia's Luna-25 mission spread on Sunday, ISRO said that Chandrayaan-3 was set to land on August 23.
9The mission is India's second attempt to land on the south pole of the moon.
10In 2019, ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully launched an orbiter, but its lander crashed.
11Chandrayaan means "moon vehicle" in Hindi and Sanskrit
12The ground at the lunar south pole is uneven making landing there difficult.
13A first landing would be historic.
14The area's water ice could supply fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions.
15Images released on Monday showed craters on the moon's surface captured by the spacecraft's camera.
16The camera is designed to help identify a safe landing place for the spacecraft.
17India's moon mission launched on July 14.
18The Chandrayaan-3's lander separated from the rest of the spacecraft last week.
19For India, a successful moon landing would mark its arrival as a world space power.
20Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government aims to increase investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.
21Manish Purohit is a former ISRO scientist. "If Chandrayaan-3 succeeds, it will boost India's space agency's reputation worldwide," he said.
22Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after it went into an uncontrolled orbit, the country's Roscosmos space agency said Sunday.
23The pilotless spacecraft had been expected to land Monday.
24However, Roscosmos said it lost contact with the Luna-25 on Saturday after the spacecraft reported problems.
25Vitaly Egorov is a popular Russian space expert.
26He said the mission had some successes although it crashed.
27"Luna 25 showed important progress. It flew toward the Moon, carried out orbit correction, and tested onboard electronics and scientific tools," he said.
28"Russian cosmonautics was not at this level before. But then, an error occurred somehow."
29The lunar mission was Russia's first since 1976, when it was known as the Soviet Union.
30Only three governments have successfully landed on the moon: the Soviet Union, the United States and China.
31Scientists at ISRO have said they learned from the earlier moon mission's failure and made changes to Chandrayaan-3.
32They said a successful landing is now more likely.
33The changes include making it possible to land safely anywhere within a larger landing area in difficult conditions.
34It also holds more fuel, carries additional solar panels and has stronger legs.
35I'm Dan Novak.
1India will soon attempt to land a spacecraft on the point farthest south on the moon, its south pole. 2The attempt comes just days after the failure of a Russian moon lander. India's space agency on Monday released images its spacecraft captured on the far side of the moon. That is the part of the moon that cannot be seen from Earth. 3The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the spacecraft called the Chandrayaan-3. ISRO had been in a race with Russia to be the first national space agency to land on the lunar south pole. The area is thought to hold water ice that could support a future moon settlement. 4As news of the failure of Russia's Luna-25 mission spread on Sunday, ISRO said that Chandrayaan-3 was set to land on August 23. 5The mission is India's second attempt to land on the south pole of the moon. In 2019, ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully launched an orbiter, but its lander crashed. Chandrayaan means "moon vehicle" in Hindi and Sanskrit 6The ground at the lunar south pole is uneven making landing there difficult. A first landing would be historic. The area's water ice could supply fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions. 7Images released on Monday showed craters on the moon's surface captured by the spacecraft's camera. The camera is designed to help identify a safe landing place for the spacecraft. 8India's moon mission launched on July 14. The Chandrayaan-3's lander separated from the rest of the spacecraft last week. 9For India, a successful moon landing would mark its arrival as a world space power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government aims to increase investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses. 10Manish Purohit is a former ISRO scientist. "If Chandrayaan-3 succeeds, it will boost India's space agency's reputation worldwide," he said. 11Russia's Luna-25 crashes 12Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after it went into an uncontrolled orbit, the country's Roscosmos space agency said Sunday. The pilotless spacecraft had been expected to land Monday. 13However, Roscosmos said it lost contact with the Luna-25 on Saturday after the spacecraft reported problems. 14Vitaly Egorov is a popular Russian space expert. He said the mission had some successes although it crashed. 15"Luna 25 showed important progress. It flew toward the Moon, carried out orbit correction, and tested onboard electronics and scientific tools," he said. "Russian cosmonautics was not at this level before. But then, an error occurred somehow." 16The lunar mission was Russia's first since 1976, when it was known as the Soviet Union. Only three governments have successfully landed on the moon: the Soviet Union, the United States and China. 17Scientists at ISRO have said they learned from the earlier moon mission's failure and made changes to Chandrayaan-3. They said a successful landing is now more likely. The changes include making it possible to land safely anywhere within a larger landing area in difficult conditions. It also holds more fuel, carries additional solar panels and has stronger legs. 18I'm Dan Novak. 19Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 20___________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22lunar - adj. related to the moon 23crater - n. a hole in the surface of the ground caused by an explosion or something that is very heavy falling there 24boost -v. to lift up; to raise 25reputation -n. the common opinion that people have a person, group, organization or country 26onboard -adj. carried on a vehicle and not placed somewhere else 27cosmonautic - adj. related to cosmonauts, Russia's version of astronauts 28solar panel -n. a flat device that creates electricity using energy from the sun