World

India set to launch historic Moon mission Chandrayaan-3

Published

1 year ago

July 14, 2023

editor

India is set to launch its third Moon mission, aiming to be the first to land near its little-explored south pole.

The Chandrayaan-3 craft with an orbiter, lander and a rover is due to lift off at 14:35 on Friday (09:05 GMT) from Sriharikota space center.

The lander is due to reach the Moon on 23-24 August, space officials said.

If successful, India will be only the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, following the US, the former Soviet Union and China.

The third in India’s programme of lunar exploration, Chandrayaan-3 is expected to build on the success of its earlier Moon missions.

It comes 13 years after the country’s first Moon mission in 2008, which carried out “the first and most detailed search for water on the lunar surface and established the Moon has an atmosphere during daytime”, said Mylswamy Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-1.

Chandrayaan-2 – which also comprised an orbiter, a lander and a rover – was launched in July 2019 but it was only partially successful. Its orbiter continues to circle and study the Moon even today, but the lander-rover failed to make a soft landing and crashed during touchdown. It was because of “a last-minute glitch in the braking system”, explained Mr Annadurai.

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chief Sreedhara Panicker Somanath has said they have carefully studied the data from the last crash and carried out simulation exercises to fix the glitches.

Chandrayaan-3, which weighs 3,900kg and cost 6.1bn rupees ($75m; £58m), has the “same goals” as its predecessor – to ensure a soft-landing on the Moon’s surface, he added.

The lander (called Vikram, after the founder of Isro) weighs about 1,500kg and carries within its belly the 26kg rover which is named Pragyaan, the Sanskrit word for wisdom.

After Friday’s lift-off, the craft will take about 15 to 20 days to enter the Moon’s orbit. Scientists will then start reducing the rocket’s speed over the next few weeks to bring it to a point which will allow a soft landing for Vikram.

If all goes to plan, the six-wheeled rover will then eject and roam around the rocks and craters on Moon’s surface, gathering crucial data and images to be sent back to Earth for analysis.

“The rover is carrying five instruments which will focus on finding out about the physical characteristics of the surface of the Moon, the atmosphere close to the surface and the tectonic activity to study what goes on below the surface. I’m hoping we’ll find something new,” Mr Somanath told Mirror Now.

(BBC News)

World

UN Security Council backs Guterres after Israel bars him from country

Published

19 hours ago

October 4, 2024

editor

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday (Oct. 03) expressed its full support for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after Israel’s foreign minister said he was barring him from entering the country.

The 15-member council said in a statement that “any decision not to engage with the U.N. Secretary-General or the United Nations is counterproductive, especially in the context of escalating tensions in the Middle East.”

The statement did not name Israel. Such statements by the council are agreed by consensus.

Israel’s Foreign Minister said on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) that he was barring U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because he had not “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

Mr. Guterres on Tuesday (October 1, 2024) issued a brief statement referencing only the “latest attacks in the Middle East” and condemning the conflict “with escalation after escalation”. Earlier on Tuesday (October 1, 2024), Israel had sent troops into south Lebanon.

Earlier Wednesday (October 2, 2024) Israel declared Mr. Guterres “persona non grata” as they think he didn’t specifically condemn Iran’s missile attack when he condemned on Tuesday the “broadening conflict in the Middle East.”

UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Wednesday (October 2, 2024) for an end to the “sickening cycle of escalation” in the Middle East, while specifically condemning Iran over its latest missile attack after facing harsh criticism from Israel.

(The Hindu)

News

Iran launches ballistic missile attack on Israel

Published

3 days ago

October 2, 2024

editor

Iran has launched ballistic missiles at Israel, causing sirens to sound all over the country, the Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday.

More than 100 missiles were launched, according to Israeli media.

Israel assesses that Iran is likely to attack three Israeli air bases and an intelligence base located just north of Tel Aviv, foreign media reported.

The intelligence base in Glilot was evacuated Tuesday afternoon, and the Israeli military has put contingency plans for the safety of personnel at those bases into effect.

The Israeli military said all civilians were in bomb shelters as the rockets were fired.

The assault follows Israel launching widespread attacks in Lebanon, including the killing of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and a ground invasion of the south of the country.

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it fired dozens of missiles at Israel in response to Israels actions in Gaza, and the killing of leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Jordan’s state news agency reports that it has suspended air traffic temporarily.

Israeli Army Radio reports meanwhile that take-offs and landings have been halted at Ben-Gurion Airport.

U.S. officials warned earlier in the day that Iran was preparing a ballistic missile strike targeting Israel.

US President Joe Biden has said the United States is prepared to help Israel defend itself from Iranian missile attacks and to protect the American military in the region.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres “is extremely concerned with the escalation of the conflict in Lebanon” and is appealing for an immediate ceasefire, according to a statement from his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

The statement warned that an “all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs.”

Sri Lankan diplomats in Israel say there are no reports of Sri Lankans in Israel being affected by the missile attack

(News1st)

(This story, originally published by News1st has not been edited by SLM staff)

World

20 children dead after Thailand school bus fire

Published

3 days ago

October 1, 2024

editor

The bodies of 20 children and three teachers have been recovered after a bus transporting school pupils crashed and caught fire outside Bangkok.
The bus was returning to the Thai capital after a school trip to the north of the country.

Videos from the scene showed flames engulfing the bus as it burned under an overpass, with huge clouds of dense black smoke billowing into the sky.

Transport Minister Suriyahe Juangroongruangkit said the bus was powered by “extremely risky” compressed natural gas.

Witnesses say the bus crashed into the concrete barrier dividing the highway just north of Bangkok, after a front tyre burst.

The bus was quickly consumed by an intense fire, and many on board were unable to get out. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Nineteen children and three teachers are reported to have survived, sixteen of whom are being treated in hospital for their injuries.

(BBC News)