Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Kremlin plays down moon landing failure, says space programme will continue
The Kremlin on Tuesday said that the failure of Russia’s Luna-25 mission to the Moon earlier this month was “nothing terrible” and that the main thing was to continue Russia’s space exploration program. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This is not a reason to despair, nor to tear our hair out. This is another reason to analyse the causes (of the failure) and eliminate them next time.”
India’s Chandrayaan-3 rover rolls onto moon’s surface, braces for new challenges
The moon rover of India’s Chandrayaan-3 exited the spacecraft on Thursday to begin exploring the surface of the lunar south pole and conducting experiments, and was braced for new challenges, the space agency chief said. The spacecraft landed on the unexplored south pole of the moon on Wednesday, making India the first country to achieve this feat just days after Russia’s Luna-25 failed in a similar mission.
India’s Skyroot expects to double rocket launches amid Chandrayaan-3’s success
Skyroot Aerospace, which launched India’s first private rocket in 2022, aims to double its planned launches starting next year on a likely boost to the country’s fledgling private space sector from the success of the Chandrayaan-3 moon mission.
The Hyderabad-based company, backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, is also aiming to raise more money by the end of next year, co-founder Pawan Kumar Chandana told Reuters in an interview.
(With inputs from agencies.)
