When India began its planetary exploration program, it did it proper. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was India’s first mission to a different world, which entered into orbit across the Moon in 2008. The mission was a giant success throughout, discovering proof of enormous quantities of water ice on the lunar poles. Pictured: Three photographs of the identical lunar crater taken with Chandrayaan-1’s Moon Mineralogical Mapper instrument, a NASA contribution that was used to distinguish between ice, liquid water, and water vapor primarily based on how the lunar floor mirrored and absorbed infrared gentle. Picture credit score: ISRO et al.
Come for the lunar radar analysis concepts, keep for the tales. This week’s Planetary Radio contains a dialog with former director of NASA’s Planetary Science division and retired chief scientist Jim Inexperienced, who shares fascinating concepts from a latest workshop that explored the potential of radio telescopes on the Moon’s farside. He additionally shares anecdotes from his lengthy historical past of house science and NASA service.
The tip of an period marks the start of a brand new one. Planetary Radio’s longtime host and producer Mat Kaplan has introduced his plans to retire this yr after 20 years of sharing house science and exploration together with his listeners. As we rejoice Mat’s many accomplishments all through his profession, we additionally look ahead to the subsequent chapter: we’re now in search of candidates for the place of Planetary Radio host and producer.
