Indian Moon Probe To Enter Lunar Orbit

A moon probe launched by India on October 22nd is maneuvering into a lunar orbit at a distance of about 100 km from the surface of the moon by Saturday, Nov. 8. The probe will produce a 3 dimensional atlas of the moon and study the chemical and mineral makeup of the surface. The craft is carrying a payload of 11 scientific components from India (5), the U.S. (2), Britain (1), Germany (1), Sweden (1) and Bulgaria (1). According to the CBC "The launch of Chandrayaan-1 is the first step of the country's long-term ambitions to conduct a manned moon mission by 2020. India has also announced plans for the launch of Chandrayaan-2 — which is expected to land a rover on the moon by 2012 — and a manned space mission by 2015 using Indian systems and technology."

SpaceX: '... there has been an anomaly.'

For the third time in three attempts private space company SpaceX has attempted to launch it's Falcon 1 rocket and failed. "It was obviously a big disappointment not to reach orbit on this flight," said Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX in a message to his staff. "On the plus side, the flight of our first stage, with the new Merlin 1C engine that will be used in Falcon 9, was picture perfect. Unfortunately, a problem occurred with stage separation, causing the stages to be held together." The Falcon 1 was carrying Trailblazer, a small satellite built by the Pentagon, a mini-laboratory called PreSat and a 10-sq-m Solar sail, both built by Nasa. SpaceX is being viewed by NASA as a viable alternative to fill the mission gap that will exist as the space agency decommissions the current shuttle fleet and builds it's replacement. BBC Story here.

Russian Capsule Makes Off-Course Landing, Astronauts Shaken But Okay

South Korea's first space traveller Yi So-yeon, American astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko are reported to be in satisfactory condition after what NASA commentator John Ira Petty described as a "ballistic" re-entry. The three were subjected to severe G-force and the entry took them 420 kilometres off target in northern Kazakhstan. For Whitson the time she spent aboard the International Space Station, together with a previous stay, totals 377 days in space, more than any other U.S. spacefarer. You can find more from NASA here and the CBC here.

Space Truck Practices Docking With Space Station

The European Space Agency's unmanned space freighter is practicing approaches and retreats in preparation for docking with the International Space Station on Thursday. The ATV is carrying nearly five tonnes of supplies for the ISS astronauts, and flies under the control of autonomous computers. "We've had the usual small anomalies; we're learning how to fly the bird - but nothing that has been really difficult," said John Ellwood from the European Space Agency. The BBC has more on the story here, along with an interesting Google Maps mashup that allows you to track the flights of both the ATV and the ISS... cool!

Messenger Shows A Side of Mercury Never Seen Before

NASA's Messenger probe has taken over 1200 photo's in its flyby of the aging planet. These photos unveiled on Wednesday by the space agency "help support the case that ancient volcanoes dot Mercury and that it is shrinking as it gets older, forming wrinkle-like ridges." The photos together with those taken by Mariner 10 in 1975 provide a picture of 75 percent of the planet. Messenger will perform a couple more close flybys of the planet before eventually going into a long-term orbit. Instrument scientist Louise Prockter of Johns Hopkins University said "there are some features we haven't been able to explain yet." For example a feature that scientists are calling "the spider" in the middle of a basin that was formed billions of years ago when space junk bombarded Mercury. Perhaps David Bowie was wrong, the spiders are not from Mars...

CNN story here.