India’s Major Leap to the Moon
While it breaks my heart that NASA is in such a sad state it’s great to see India take this major step into exploration. India still have a long way to go to catch up with China, but they’ve just made some real history today. Perhaps the 21st Century will be about space exploration no longer being limited to a few nations but becoming common place:
India launches first Moon mission
“The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration. The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.
The launch is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia. Indian PM Manmohan Singh hailed the launch as the “first step” in a historic milestone in the country’s space programme. “Our scientific community has once again done the country proud and the entire nation salutes them,” Mr Singh said in a message.
The launch was greeted with applause by scientists gathered at the site.”