Sunday, October 22, 2017

India reaches the moon! Chandrayaan I launched 2008



India's first lunar probe, Chandrayaan 1, was launched October 22, 2008 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center north of Chennai.  The spacecraft consisted of an orbiter and a lander.  Chandrayaan 1 entered lunar orbit on November 8 and the Moon Impact Probe separated from the orbiter on November 14. 

The Moon Impact Probe landed near the Shackleton crater on the south pole, making India the fourth country to reach the moon.

Two months shy of its first anniversary, the orbiter stopped sending signals on August 28, 2009.  Indian Space Research Organization expected it to crash onto the lunar surface in 2012 but as of 2016, it is still in orbit.

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