After a successful launch and lunar orbit insertion, Indian space mission Chandrayaan-1 has successfully landed its Moon Impact Probe on the surface of the Moon. The lander will now take measurements to help determine the composition of the Moon’s thin atmosphere.
CORRECTION: The Moon Impact Probe took all its measurements and images during its descent to the Moon’s surface. The probe then had a “hard landing” on the lunar surface that “terminated its functioning”. Thanks for Emily at the Planetary Society Weblog for clearing up this confusion! I think the BBC have also amended their story, as I’m sure the one I read before said nothing about a “crash landing”.
The Chairman of the Indian Space Programme, Madhavan Nair, has indicated that India will also consider sending a mission to Mars.
Click here for a nice image gallery of the Chandrayaan mission over at the BBC.
And congratulations to India for a successful mission!
So as of now, the list of nations who traveled to the moon is US, Russia, Japan and India with US, Russia and India making a touchdown in some way, shape or form. China is aiming to go to the Moon next, first with a rover and then with astronauts.
At this point, we should start dividing the Moon into little domains for future colonies. =)