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Space Toys Motion toys are effective tools for helping children learn science and mathematics. Scientific and mathematical principles make these toys work. For example, wind-up toys convert stored potential energy in their springs into kinetic energy as the springs unwind. Gravity often plays an important role in the actions of toys, but how would the same toys function in an environment where the effects of gravity are not felt? The Space Shuttle provides such a setting so students can discover the answer to this question. A Space Shuttle orbiting around Earth is in a state of freefall which eliminates the local effects of gravity, making objects inside appear to float. NASA refers to this environment as microgravity. Videotapes of toys in microgravity enable students to see subtle actions that gravity masks on the surface of Earth. -nasa.gov

Chandrayaan, India's moon spacecraft

Chandrayaan was a satellite launched by India to study moon. Chandrayaan means moon travel. The spacecraft included a moon orbiter and a moon impact probe, the latter was separated from Chandrayaan and impacted moon on 14 November 2008. The mission was a major achievement for the Indian space program. Radio contact with Chandrayaan was lost on August 29, 2009.

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NASA Instruments Aboard Chandrayaan-1 Spacecraft Reveal Water Molecules on Lunar Surface

WASHINGTON -- Sep 24, 2009. NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small. Hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, also was found in the lunar soil. The findings were published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science.

NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, or M3, instrument reported the observations. M3 was carried into space on Oct. 22, 2008, aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS, on NASA's Cassini spacecraft and the High-Resolution Infrared Imaging Spectrometer on NASA's EPOXI spacecraft contributed to confirmation of the finding. The spacecraft imaging spectrometers made it possible to map lunar water more effectively than ever before.
The confirmation of elevated water molecules and hydroxyl at these concentrations in the moon's polar regions raises new questions about its origin and effect on the mineralogy of the moon. Answers to these questions will be studied and debated for years to come.

"Water ice on the moon has been something of a holy grail for lunar scientists for a very long time," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This surprising finding has come about through the ingenuity, perseverance and international cooperation between NASA and the India Space Research Organization."

From its perch in lunar orbit, M3's state-of-the-art spectrometer measured light reflecting off the moon's surface at infrared wavelengths, splitting the spectral colors of the lunar surface into small enough bits to reveal a new level of detail in surface composition. When the M3 science team analyzed data from the instrument, they found the wavelengths of light being absorbed were consistent with the absorption patterns for water molecules and hydroxyl. Courtesy: NASA

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India's Moon Spacecraft Chandrayaan-I Loses Radio Contact

August 30, 2009: Radio contact with Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was abruptly lost at 0130 Hrs (IST) on August 29, 2009. Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore received the data from Chandrayaan-I during the previous orbit upto 0025 Hrs (IST). Among other experiments conducted with Chandrayaan-1 was the joint India-NASA experiment to search for water on the moon.

Detailed review of the Telemetry data received from the spacecraft is in progress and health of the spacecraft subsystems is being analysed.

It may be recalled that Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota on October 22, 2008 .The Spacecraft has completed 312 days in orbit making more than 3400 orbits around the Moon and providing large volume of data from sophisticated sensors like Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyper-spectral Imager, Moon Mineralogy Mapper etc., meeting most of the scientific objectives of the mission.

Chandrayaan-1
Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to Moon, was launched successfully on October 22, 2008 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. The spacecraft was orbiting around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geologic mapping of the Moon. The spacecraft carries 11 scientific instruments built in India, USA, UK, Germany, Sweden and Bulgaria. After the successful completion of all the major mission objectives, the orbit has been raised to 200 km during May 2009. Mission: Remote Sensing, Planetary Science
Weight: 1380 kg (Mass at lift off)
Onboard power: 700 Watts
Payloads: 3 - axis stabilised using reaction wheel and attitude control thrusters, sun sensors, star sensors, fibre optic gyros and accelerometers for attitude determination.
Launch Date: 22 October 2008
Launch Site: SDSC, SHAR, Sriharikota
Launch Vehicle: PSLV - C11
Orbit: 100 km x 100 km : Lunar Orbit
Mission: life 2 years


ISRO-NASA Joint Experiment To Search for Water Ice on the Moon

August 21, 2009: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and NASA performed a unique joint experiment today (Aug. 21, 2009), that could yield additional information on the possibility of existence of ice in a permanently shadowed crater near the North pole of the moon. Known as Bi-Static Experiment, it involved ISROs Chandrayaan-1 and NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft. Currently, Chandrayaan-1 and LRO are orbiting the Moon. The two spacecraft passed close enough to one another when they were over the lunar North pole to attempt this interesting experiment.

Both Chandrayaan-1 and LRO are equipped with a NASA Miniature Radio Frequency (RF) instrument that functions as a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), known as Mini-SAR on Chandrayaan-1 and Mini-RF on LRO. Chandrayaan-1 in transmit mode transmitted the signals and LRO received the reflected signals. The experiment used both radars to point at Erlanger Crater at the same time. The Bi-Static observations were made on August 21, 2009 at 00:30 hours (IST). Before the experiment commenced, LRO executed a minor manoeuvre to adjust its orbit to the well-established Chandrayaan-1 orbit. The data was collected for about 4 minutes. MiniSAR of Chandrayaan-1 was fine tuned for making observations in terms of pulse width, range rate sampling as well as its 200 km orbit height. The operations went on as planned.

All Chandrayaan-1 operations related to Bi-Static experiment were executed from Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Peenya. Science Data was immediately downloaded over Johns Hopkins Universitys Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the ground station that had the visibility. Later today morning (August 21, 2009), during Chandrayaan-1s visibility over Indian Deep Space Networks antennas at Byalalu, near Bangalore, the data was again obtained along with spacecrafts orientation information when Bi-Static observations were performed.

For the Bi-Static experiment, the Mini-SAR on Chandrayaan-1 performed its normal SAR imaging (transmitting and receiving) while the Mini-RF was made to receive only. The two instruments looked at the same location from different angles. Comparing the signal that bounces straight back to Chandrayaan-1 with the signal that bounces at a slight angle to LRO provides unique information about the lunar surface.

Observations from today`s experiment are being analysed by scientists from ISRO and NASA.

Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft completes 3000 orbits around the Moon

Chandrayaan-1, Indias first mission to Moon, launched on October 22, 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, has completed eight months of successful operation and has made 3,000 revolutions around the Moon. Besides sending more than 70,000 images of the lunar surface which provide breathtaking views of lunar mountains and craters, especially craters in the permanently shadowed areas of the Moons polar region, Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft is also collecting valuable data pertaining to the chemical and mineral content of the Moon. Chandrayaan-1s orbit was raised from 100 km to 200 km circular on May 19, 2009. The high orbital altitude of Chandrayaan-1 reduces the resolution of the imagery but provides a wider swath and the data is of good quality.

The onboard star sensor used for determining the orientation of the spacecraft started malfunctioning on April 26, 2009. To overcome this anomaly, ISRO devised an innovative technique of using redundant sensors gyroscopes along with antenna pointing information and images of specific location on the surface of the moon, for determining the orientation of the spacecraft. This method has been validated and based on this information, mission operations are being carried out satisfactorily. Other than the failure of the star sensor and one of the Bus Management Units, health of the spacecraft is normal.

Recent review by scientists has confirmed that all primary mission objectives of Chandrayaan-1 have been successfully realised during the eight months of its operation. The spacecraft continues to send high quality data as per planned sequence to its ground station at Byalalu near Bangalore. Detailed review of the scientific objectives and the performance results on the Chandrayaan-1 mission is scheduled within three months after which further operational procedures will be worked out.

It may be recalled that the primary mission of Chandrayaan-1 were:
To realise the complex spacecraft with 11 scientific instruments
To launch the spacecraft in near earth orbit and to carry out orbit raising manoeuvres of the spacecraft from 22,000 km to 3,84,000 km and place the spacecraft in a circular orbit around the moon
To place the Indian Tricolour on the moon
To carry out the imaging operation of the lunar surface and collect data on the mineral content of the lunar surface
To realise the deep space tracking network and implement the operational procedures for travel into deep space
With the successful realisation of these objectives, additional data that will be derived during the remaining part of Chandrayaan-1s life will be complementary to already derived information.

The data collected from Chandrayaan-1 instruments have been disseminated to the Indian scientists and also the partners from Europe and USA. The scientific community is extremely happy with the already obtained data and the results of analysis could be expected in about 6 months to 1 year period.