# The Great Ongoing Space Exploration Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** science-math\ **Created:** [November 16, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703 "2020-11-16T12:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 45
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/882 "2023-08-20T03:13:05Z")
How cool is that! ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/883 "2023-08-20T09:31:37Z")
Luna-25 has crashed into the Moon: > **[Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashes into Moon](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66562629)** > > The unmanned craft spun out control before its planned landing on the Moon's south pole. > “The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon,” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/884 "2023-08-20T12:57:04Z")
Ahh yes, selenobraking. The reechest kind. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/885 "2023-08-20T21:18:31Z")
CNN translated it as an “off-design orbit.” Is that like an off-brand toilet paper? 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/886 "2023-08-20T21:57:44Z")
But _much_ scratchier. On a more serious note, an over-long deceleration burn or one at the wrong point in a non-circular orbit can easily put the vehicle into an unrecoverable situation. The one thing we can be reasonably certain about this little oopsie is that it wasn’t caused by a faulty conversion from feet to meters, nor of pounds to kilograms. The Russians are far too smart to use US customary units. Unlike the US. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/887 "2023-08-21T09:02:31Z")
There are still plenty of unit conversion errors possible. km/hr vs. m/s is easy to mix up. Or even km/s vs. m/s. And let’s not forget conversions between data types, such as the downconversion from a 64-bit float to a 16-bit fixed type that led to an unhandled exception and the loss of the first Ariane 5 flight. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2023, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/888 "2023-08-21T11:38:49Z")
Yeah. Software dev is hard. Maybe harder than rocket surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/889 "2023-08-23T11:29:27Z")
Chandrayaan-3 due to land on the moon in the next hour. It looks like there will be some live streams of the descent though not sure how many cameras (if any) are on the lander and if they are beaming live pictures back to the public. The BBC have got a live page with updates and it looks like they are live streaming the descent: > **[Chandrayaan-3: India attempts first ever south pole Moon landing - BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-asia-india-66576580)** > > The country's space agency wants to be the first in history to land a craft near the lunar south pole. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/890 "2023-08-23T12:39:23Z")
And they did it! Great achievement for India but also importantly for our scientific understanding of the moon and its resources. Nobody has landed near the poles before and it’s thought there may be a lot more water in this region that humans can use on the lunar surface. Prime Minister Modi was right there to take instant credit with a speech to mission control within seconds of the landing. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/891 "2023-08-23T14:04:42Z")
Yay India, and yay humans! This is great news. (It also somehow seems symbolic of Russia’s decline — much of it self-inflicted — and India’s rise). ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/892 "2023-08-23T14:46:07Z")
I just wish the rover was designed to continue to operate for months, not days. I am not sure how much science is possible in one lunar day of 14 earth days. I like to think of this as more of a technology demonstrator vehicle than an actual, serious scientific effort. There is no point in developing a huge rover when you cannot stick the landing. Now that India has some degree of experience on what it takes to land on the moon, I fully expect ISRO to develop larger rovers. Definitely the first order of business should be to develop radio-isotope power packages for future rovers. What wonderful news, made my day! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/893 "2023-08-23T15:19:47Z")
> [@mandala](#): > > I just wish the rover was designed to continue to operate for months, not days. I am not sure how much science is possible in one lunar day of 14 earth days. The Mars rover Opportunity was designed to last 90 days, and ran for more than 14 years. That parameter has an implied “at least”, it doesn’t necessarily exclude “more than”. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/894 "2023-08-23T17:30:42Z")
True. But without checking into the actual design of the Chandrayaan-3 rover … It might well have been built to last one daylight cycle and is fully expected to deplete batteries and freeze during its first exposure to the 14 earth-day night cycle. If the margins are sufficiently negative, it’d be beyond miraculous for it to wake up after that first night. W shall see. I wish them well whatever their design parameters. ---
**Author:** ![mandala](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mandala/32/95_2.png) [@mandala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandala)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/895 "2023-08-23T20:28:53Z")
[India’s rocket journey: from bullock-carts to the moon.](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/photo/isro-mars-mission-history-orbiter-mangalyaan-scientists-history-373325-2014-09-24/3) India, much like China, arose from very, very humble beginnings but today stands tall as an up-and-coming space power. Hard work pays! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/896 "2023-08-24T01:23:03Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > (It also somehow seems symbolic of Russia’s decline — much of it self-inflicted — and India’s rise). It’s gratifying that, in some small way, human civilization isn’t _declining_. India is a rising power just as Russia falters. And they’ve done so in spite of a lot of factors working against them. I can always appreciate doing a lot with minimal resources. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/897 "2023-08-24T02:01:53Z")
Yes, agreed. Despite all the things I don’t like about Modi, I admire India and its people, and wish them _many_ more successes, in space and here on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/898 "2023-08-24T02:09:39Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Luna-25 has crashed into the Moon: I’m surprised they haven’t announced it was lunar surface test to dislodge and measure water. Kudos to India. I liked the way it was announced on the news with a gymnastics reference. “India sticks landing”. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/899 "2023-08-24T02:17:58Z")
And lest we forget, India also is one of the countries to have achieved a successful [_Mars_ probe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Orbiter_Mission). ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/900 "2023-08-24T11:35:29Z")
it also seems remarkable that the russians (who tried to steal the thunder from india by a rushed launch, just to take “first dibs”) failed. Knowing that justice isn’t a political or scientific variable - but sometimes things just pan out right … just like in those cheesy holliwood dramas Another upside is that India seems to be less ideologisized in ther space effort than many others. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/901 "2023-08-24T11:39:16Z")
India is a signatory to the Artemis Accords which Russia is not. So India’s work here will benefit the Artemis program directly. > **[Artemis Accords](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_Accords)** > > The Artemis Accords is a non-binding multilateral arrangement between the United States government and other world governments participating in the Artemis program, an American-led effort to return humans to the Moon by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond. As of August 9, 2023, twenty-eight countries and one territory have signed the accords, including ten in Europe, eight in Asia, three in North America, four in South America, two in Oceania and two ... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=44) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=46)