BBC wrote:India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft, Chandrayaan 1, has sent a probe onto the surface of the Moon.
The probe, painted with the Indian flag, crashed into the moon's surface at 2034 (1504 GMT), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
During its controlled plunge it took readings including measurements of the composition of the Moon's atmosphere.
The mission is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says the success of the mission has been hailed in India where many see it as another sign of the country's emergence as a global power.
"As James ascended the spiral staircase towards the tower in a futile attempt to escape his tormentors, he pondered the irony of being cornered in a circular room."
Crap, they are gonna find out we faked it back in '69! Aside from newer atmospheric measurements (yes, the moon has a very weak atmosphere mainly comprised of sodium) are they doing any new science up there, or was this more a national prestige thing?
بيرني كان سيفوز
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Nuclear Navy Warwolf
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in omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro
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ipsa scientia potestas est
The orbiter portion has some pretty extensive gear for surveying the surface and determining chemical compositions of the rocks. Nothing groundbreaking maybe, but better mapping the surface helps pave the way for future landings, especially manned ones
"This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree"
— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
Ender wrote:Crap, they are gonna find out we faked it back in '69! Aside from newer atmospheric measurements (yes, the moon has a very weak atmosphere mainly comprised of sodium) are they doing any new science up there, or was this more a national prestige thing?
Partly national prestige, I would gather. Mostly a test of their technological limits and a first step. They've demonstrated that they can actually get an object to the moon and target it on the surface. Next step will be a probe with controlled-landing capability.
When ballots have fairly and constitutionally decided, there can be no successful appeal back to bullets.
—Abraham Lincoln
People pray so that God won't crush them like bugs.
—Dr. Gregory House
Oil an emergency?! It's about time, Brigadier, that the leaders of this planet of yours realised that to remain dependent upon a mineral slime simply doesn't make sense.
—The Doctor "Terror Of The Zygons" (1975)
