Copernical Team
Week in images: 10-14 July 2023
Week in images: 10-14 July 2023
Discover our week through the lens
India launches cut-price mission to land on Moon
India launched a rocket on Friday carrying an unmanned spacecraft to land on the Moon, its second attempt to do so as its cut-price space program seeks to reach new heights.
The heavyweight LVM3-M4 rocket lifted off from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, as thousands of enthusiasts clapped and cheered.
"Chandrayaan-3... has begun its journey to the Moon. Health of the spacecraft is normal," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Twitter.
The world's most populous nation has a comparatively low-budget aerospace program that is rapidly closing in on the milestones set by global space powers.
Only Russia, the United States and China have previously achieved a controlled landing on the lunar surface.
India's last attempt to do so ended in failure four years ago, when ground control lost contact moments before landing.
The future, by the box: 10 years of ESA Technology CubeSats
Imagine building yourself a small satellite out of standardised 10-cm boxes. Such humble nanosatellites are called CubeSats, first devised as an educational tool but increasingly performing valuable work in space. ESA’s CubeSat Systems Unit has been utilising CubeSats for a decade now to test out innovative new technologies – resulting in seven missions to date with many more on the way.
Infographic: ESA Technology CubeSats, the first 10 years
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Infographic: ESA Technology CubeSats, the first 10 years India launches rocket to land spacecraft on Moon
India on Friday launched a rocket seeking to land an unmanned spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, a live feed showed, its second attempt to become only the fourth country to do so.
The rocket lifted off from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, as thousands of enthusiasts clapped and cheered.
The world's most populous nation has a ESA moves ahead with In-Orbit Servicing missions
Isn’t it strange that when satellites run out of fuel or a single component breaks down, we just discard them? ESA and European industry have joined forces to make sure that our satellites can live on.
Earth from Space: Ethiopian painting
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Reminiscent of an artist’s pallet, this striking false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission features Lake Abbe in northeast Ethiopia. Lunar solar power satellite
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Lunar solar power satellite The sound of Aeolus will blow you away
After almost five years, ESA’s Aeolus wind satellite has completed its mission. Now, you can listen to the Life of Aeolus – an incredible wind orchestral piece that has been composed using data spanning Aeolus’ entire life in orbit around Earth.
India is set to launch a lander and rover to explore the moon's south pole
