VOA科学技术2023--India Prepares Moon Landing after Failed Russian Attempt

India Prepares Moon Landing after Failed Russian Attempt

India will soon attempt to land a spacecraft on the point farthest south on the moon, its south pole.

The attempt comes just days after the failure of a Russian moon lander. India's space agency on Monday released images its spacecraft captured on the far side of the moon. That is the part of the moon that cannot be seen from Earth.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the spacecraft called the Chandrayaan-3. ISRO had been in a race with Russia to be the first national space agency to land on the lunar south pole. The area is thought to hold water ice that could support a future moon settlement.

As news of the failure of Russia's Luna-25 mission spread on Sunday, ISRO said that Chandrayaan-3 was set to land on August 23.

The mission is India's second attempt to land on the south pole of the moon. In 2019, ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully launched an orbiter, but its lander crashed. Chandrayaan means "moon vehicle" in Hindi and Sanskrit

The ground at the lunar south pole is uneven¹ making landing there difficult. A first landing would be historic. The area's water ice could supply fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions.

Images released on Monday showed craters³ on the moon's surface captured by the spacecraft's camera. The camera is designed to help identify a safe landing place for the spacecraft.

India's moon mission launched on July 14. The Chandrayaan-3's lander separated from the rest of the spacecraft last week.

For India, a successful moon landing would mark its arrival as a world space power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government aims to increase investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.

Manish Purohit is a former ISRO scientist. "If Chandrayaan-3 succeeds, it will boost India's space agency's reputation worldwide," he said.

Russia's Luna-25 crashes

Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after it went into an uncontrolled orbit, the country's Roscosmos space agency said Sunday. The pilotless spacecraft had been expected to land Monday.

However, Roscosmos said it lost contact with the Luna-25 on Saturday after the spacecraft reported problems.

Vitaly Egorov is a popular Russian space expert. He said the mission had some successes although it crashed.

"Luna 25 showed important progress. It flew toward the Moon, carried out orbit correction, and tested onboard electronics and scientific tools," he said. "Russian cosmonautics was not at this level before. But then, an error occurred somehow."

The lunar mission was Russia's first since 1976, when it was known as the Soviet⁴ Union. Only three governments have successfully landed on the moon: the Soviet Union, the United States and China.

Scientists at ISRO have said they learned from the earlier moon mission's failure and made changes to Chandrayaan-3. They said a successful landing is now more likely. The changes include making it possible to land safely anywhere within a larger landing area in difficult conditions. It also holds more fuel, carries additional solar panels and has stronger legs.

Words in This Story

lunar — adj. related to the moon

crater² — n. a hole in the surface of the ground caused by an explosion or something that is very heavy falling there

boost –v. to lift up; to raise

reputation –n. the common opinion that people have a person, group, organization or country

onboard –adj. carried on a vehicle and not placed somewhere else

cosmonautic — adj. related to cosmonauts, Russia's version of astronauts

solar panel –n. a flat device that creates electricity using energy from the sun

1 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

2 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

3 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。