The far side of the moon
- POSTED ON: 14 Sep, 2019
- TOTAL VIEWS: 710 Views
- POSTED BY: Madhuvanti S. Krishnan
- ARTICLE POINTS: 150 Points
Ever since Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969, the world’s interest in it has only grown. That the Moon is the closest cosmic body at which space discovery can be attempted and documented, makes it fascinating for exploration. This explains India’s efforts at getting a step closer to discovering more about the Moon. In fact, last week, we came 0.0006% close to becoming the first country to do a soft-landing on the lunar south pole. In the early hours of Saturday, as the nation watched with bated breath, India’s second space exploration, Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander went silent, a mere 2.1 km above the lunar surface.
While a successful landing would have made India the fourth country to land a vessel on the lunar surface, and the third to operate a robotic rover there, things are not as bleak as they seem. Chandrayaan-2 will circle and study the Moon remotely for a year, safely from the lunar orbit.
How much do you know about the moon and Chandrayaan? Take this quiz to find out.