On Nov. 19, Mark S. Robinson opened an email with the subject line, Vikram Landers final resting place (Images with Proof).
Dr. Robinson is the principal investigator for the sharp-eyed camera aboard Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a NASA spacecraft that has been mapping the moon for a decade, and he had received a lot of these emails since an Indian robotic spacecraft disappeared in September as it attempted to land on the moon.
But this one turned out to be the crucial clue in finding the missing lander, and on Monday NASA announced the location of the crash site, with photographs showing the scar on the moonscape.
The accomplishment was a triumph of crowdsourcing in modern space research, and pointed to the value of NASAs openness with its data and operations. Most of the data from American civilian space missions is freely available to both academics and curious amateurs, who were able to scour pictures from a NASA orbiter for signs of the Indian spacecraft.
By contrast, the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, the agency that runs Indias space program, has been parsimonious in revealing what it knew about the fate of Vikram, which was part of Chandrayaan-2, a mission that launched in July. An accompanying orbiter continues to operate around the moon.
If Vikram had successfully made it to the surface, India would have become only the fourth nation to accomplish that feat. But as it descended, something went awry about a mile above the surface. Vikram shifted off course, then went quiet.
A day later, the Indian space agency posted on its website that it had already found the lander: Vikram lander has been located by the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2, but no communication with it yet.
This week, K. Sivan, ISROs director, dismissed the NASA announcement, repeating the claim that Vikrams location had been identified back in September.
However, the Indian space agency never released images or other data to corroborate the statement, nor did it share the coordinates of where Vikram supposedly sat on the moons surface. Only last month did the Indian government admit failure.
Thus, NASA and others looked for Vikram without ISROs help.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been methodically mapping the lunar surface for a decade, happened to pass over the Vikram landing site 10 days after its crash.
Dr. Robinson and other camera scientists examined the images, but there were no obvious signs of Vikram. The high-resolution images encompassed about a billion pixels, and the small lander, if it were not hidden in the shadows, would be only a few pixels wide.
There was a huge search area, said Dr. Robinson, a professor of earth and space exploration at Arizona State University. There were five or six people who pitched in and spent a day.
They then returned to their more scientific tasks. It was interesting to do, Dr. Robinson said. There wasnt a lot of scientific value in it.
The orbiter made additional flyovers of the site on Oct. 14, Oct. 15 and Nov. 11, adding more pictures to analyze. The direction the spacecraft was pointing during the Nov. 11 flyover provided better lighting and sharper resolution in the images.
Amateur enthusiasts continued to examine the NASA images, and many claims of Vikram sightings landed in Dr. Robinsons inbox. For most, a quick before-and-after comparison with older photographs showed that the purported impact crater was already a feature of the lunar surface.
While NASAs openness has enabled many more eyes to look over the scientific data, the space agency, with management of its missions spread around the country, is not always diligent in following up on tips.
The November email came from Shanmuga Subramanian, a computer programmer and mechanical engineer living in the south Indian city of Chennai, who had already tried for a month to tell NASA what he thought he had found.
On Oct. 3, Mr. Shanmuga posted on Twitter a tiny white speck that was not visible in an older image, which he said he thought could be Vikram.
Two weeks later, he emailed Noah E. Petro, the project scientist for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Five days later he followed up with Dr. Petro and John W. Keller, the deputy project scientist.
But it was only on the third email that he added Dr. Robinson, who forwarded the email to other scientists on the camera team, and they quickly found the crash site.
First, they confirmed that the speck Mr. Shanmuga identified was not there before September but was also visible in the October and November flybys. That ruled out the possibility that the speck was unlucky camera noise.
They then found changes in the brightness of nearby soil caused by bits of the moon flying upward and outward after the impact.
The pattern looked like a splash of water and pointed to where Vikram had slammed into the moon, about 2,500 feet to the southeast of the speck Mr. Shanmuga had seen. The speck turned out to be a piece of Vikram thrown out by the impact, and the scientists spotted other bits of wreckage.
The debris is spread out over a wide area, Dr. Robinson said.
While Indian authorities had initially suggested that the spacecraft could still be operational after a harder-than-designed landing, the images showed Vikram had disintegrated.
It wasnt a hard landing, Dr. Robinson said. It was a crash.
Dr. Robinson said it took a few days to carefully check the analysis before he informed Dr. Petro and Dr. Keller, who in turn told agency officials before Thanksgiving.
A NASA spokesman said that the release of the findings was coordinated with the Indian space agency. But the spokesman said ISRO did not share with NASA the coordinates of where it thought Vikram had ended up.
ISRO did not respond to questions about the claim that the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter had already located the lander in September.
Vikrams inadvertent strike of the moon reveals properties of the soil in the area that scientists would not have seen otherwise.
At the impact point, the surface became darker.
That material is not itself necessarily darker, but rather chunkier and thus casting more shadows, making it appear darker.
That tells something about the cratering mechanics, Dr. Robinson said.
Farther away, lighter-colored material emanates outward. The lighter streaks are not a coating of material thrown out by the impact but rather, the surface was smoothed out, making it more reflective and brighter, Dr. Robinson said. Seeing that could aid future studies of the moons surface.
_____
Hari Kumar contributed reporting from New Delhi.
Here is the original post:
A Billion Pixels and the Search for Indias Crashed Moon Lander - The New York Times
- Soyuz Spacecraft Launches to Space Station With NASA Astronaut - SciTechDaily - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- This Week In Space podcast: Episode 103 Starship's Orbital Feat - Space.com - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- From 3D To Outer Space: Register For WCC Youth Summer Camps - mitechnews.com - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- NASA and SpaceX: Enhancing Space Exploration with the 30th Resupply Mission - Space Daily - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- The Cosmic Enigma: How Space Exploration is Unraveling the Universe's Birth Secrets - yTech - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Following Safe Return, NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 to Recount Space Mission - NASA - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- The Heat: Space Exploration - CGTN America - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- SpaceX Time-Lapse Video Captures the Essence of Space Travel - yTech - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- TOP 4 Reasons to Return to the Moon - The Universe. Space. Tech - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- SpaceX Dragon Successfully Attaches to ISS Bringing Vital Research Payloads - yTech - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- End of an Era: Delta IV Heavy Makes Final Journey to the Stars - yTech - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Photography exhibition at the Mound delves into space exploration - The National - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Lunar Node 1: the trailblazing lunar beacon guiding NASA's future in space exploration - Boing Boing - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- SpaceX's CRS-30 Mission: Delivering Innovations and Research to the ISS - yTech - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Remembering Tom Stafford, the Space Races Peacemaker (1930-2024) - AmericaSpace - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- 9 Hints That Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Involves Space Travel - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- NASA sends science projects and hardware aboard SpaceX's 30th resupply launch to ISS SatNews - SatNews - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft Docks to Space Station With New Science and Supplies - SciTechDaily - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Moon Race 2.0: Why so many nations and private companies are aiming for lunar landings - BBC.com - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- NASA Selects Texas A&M As First Approved Exploration Park Facility - Texas A&M University Today - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The Space Economy in 2024 - OODA Loop - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Opinion | It's an exciting time in space exploration. But U.S. leadership is at risk. - The Washington Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- NASA Experiment With Fire in Space Ends When Entire Spacecraft Burns Up - Futurism - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- NASA Selects Texas A&M as First Approved Exploration Park Facility - NASA - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Ground-Based Lasers Could Accelerate Spacecraft to Other Stars - Universe Today - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- 8 Space Exploration Books to Add to Your TBR - Book Riot - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Meet the Elected Members of the African Space Council - Space in Africa - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- NASA working with Texas A&M to build new spaceflight research facilities - 25 News KXXV and KRHD - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Inflatable Habitats: Expanding Space Exploration - Lockheed Martin - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- China's Rising Ambitions in Space Exploration: Chang'e Missions and International Cooperation - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Pressured Space Exploration in Today's Era - Mirage News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Exoplanet Hunter Sets Its Sights on Jupiter: A New Twist in Space Exploration - SciTechDaily - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Frontier Aerospace TALOS Engines Used For Space Exploration - PR Newswire - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Exploring the Potential of Minimoons - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Understanding the Role of TRISH in Space Health and its Future Innovations - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The Future of Satellite Refueling and In-Orbit Servicing - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Japan makes third attempt to launch next-gen rocket - Yahoo Singapore News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Uruguay becomes latest nation to join NASA's Artemis Accords - UPI News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- An astronomer's lament: Satellite megaconstellations are ruining space exploration - The Conversation - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Asteroid Mining: A Glimpse into the Future - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Singapore's ESS and Australia's ELA Join Forces to Redefine Space Exploration - BNN Breaking - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Intuitive Machines makes history with lunar lander launch - InnovationMap - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The Potential of Minimoons in Interplanetary Exploration and Space Travel - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- In space exploration, Switzerland punches above its weight - SWI swissinfo.ch - SWI swissinfo.ch in English - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Odysseus Mission: Pioneering the Lunar Economy and Space Exploration - BNN Breaking - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Starlab Announces Leadership Team With new CEO and CFO - SpaceWatch.Global - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The New Space Race: Private American Companies Compete to Land on the Moon - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Spectrum Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Plays Vital Role in NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications - PR Newswire - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Intuitive Machines Odyssey lunar lander to be launched early Wednesday - The Washington Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- New funding for space projects ensures the UK's role in global missions - Innovation News Network - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX and Intuitive Machines Lunar Mission: Challenges, Expectations, and Future - Medriva - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Farewell to a NASA Hero: Apollo Astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II Departs at 87 - SciTechDaily - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- NASA Welcomes Netherlands as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory - NASA - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- China's astronauts tend orbital garden to aid deep space exploration - Space.com - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- All-UK astronaut mission shows that private enterprise is vital to the ... - The Conversation Indonesia - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Former Astronaut Discusses Space Travel and Its Future With ... - Duke Today - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Returning astronauts to the moon is NASA's biggest challenge, but ... - Space.com - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Australias IPSEC Conference Shows Synergies Between the Space ... - Via Satellite - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Mice embryos successfully grown in space, a promising milestone ... - Salon - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Dava Newman talks Mars exploration and comunication - CMU The Tartan Online - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Science Fact or Fiction: Leveraging Space to Transform Medicine - Kennedy Space Center - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Now astronauts will not get lost in space - SAMAA - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Sci-fi inspired tractor beams are real, and could solve a major space ... - Livescience.com - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Mining Meets Space: Revolutionizing Industry Innovation with Cross ... - AZoMining - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Surf's up: Catch an atmospheric wave as ASU research team ... - ASU News Now - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Ron Baron says Tesla's valuation can hit $4 trillion, but 'SpaceX has ... - Morningstar - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- New Japanese spacecraft aims to explore the mysterious moons of ... - Space.com - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Elon Musk's Impact on the Future of Space Exploration - TickerTV News - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project movie review (2023) - Roger Ebert - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Nasa and Berkeley to build 36-acre space centre near San Francisco - Global Construction Review - November 4th, 2023 [November 4th, 2023]
- Musk bows to Turkey's autocratic government, censors Twitter ... - Popular Information - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- Small Launch Vehicle Market Sets the Table for Continued Growth ... - Digital Journal - May 15th, 2023 [May 15th, 2023]
- 10 Benefits of Space Exploration. (Including Medical and Economical) - March 6th, 2023 [March 6th, 2023]
- The 10 biggest space science stories of 2021 | Space - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- From Cleveland to the moon and even Mars: NASA Glenn adds thrust to space exploration - cleveland.com - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Space exploration - History of space exploration | Britannica - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- The Future of Space Exploration | University of Central Florida - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Space Exploration - NASA Records at the National Archives - December 2nd, 2022 [December 2nd, 2022]
- Outer Space Treaty - Wikipedia - December 2nd, 2022 [December 2nd, 2022]
- Taraji P. Henson On The Importance Of Space Exploration And Her NASA Experience With Artemis I - Forbes - December 2nd, 2022 [December 2nd, 2022]