A Day in Astronomy: India Lands a Spacecraft on the Moon

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Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the Chandrayaan-3 lander named Vickram and rover names Pragyan on the lunar surface. (NASA)

On this day in 2023, India became the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the Moon (following the Soviet Union, the U.S., and China). India’s Chandrayaan-3 probe landed at the lunar South Pole, the first spacecraft to land in that region. Chandrayaan-2 had crashed on the Moon’s surface back in 2019, whereas Chandrayaan-1 was a lunar orbiter in 2008.

The mission objectives for the Chandrayaan-3 included:

  • Testing the elemental composition of lunar soil.
  • Measuring the near surface plasma density and how it changes over time.
  • Measuring the thermal properties of the lunar surface near polar regions.
  • Measuring the seismic activity around the landing site to deduce the internal structure of the lunar crust and mantle.

As with the US space program, the boost to Indian pride following this successful mission was immeasurable. As one proud Indian noted:

The success of Chandrayaan-3 reverberated through classrooms and homes across India, with countless young eyes glued to screens, witnessing a historic moment. The mission’s success, though grand, is symbolic of more profound implications. With a burgeoning youth population, India stands on the precipice of a new era of innovation. The world’s largest youth demographic resides here, and Chandrayaan-3 has offered them more than just a scientific marvel; it has provided them with a vision of what’s achievable.

WiCOR Discovers a Mega-Earth

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Credit: WiCOR.

The Wisconsin Center for Origins Research (WiCOR) at the University of Wisconsin has two questions as part of its mission:

  • How do habitable planets form?
  • How does life emerge on habitable planets?

And now, the center has discovered its first exoplanet that brings up an unexpected question – Why is the newly discovered exoplanet GJ 523b a Mega-Earth rather than a gas giant like Saturn or Jupiter?

This new exoplanet, located about 87 light-years away, is 2.5 times the size of our Earth and 23 times its mass. To date, it was understood that something this large would become the core of a gas giant and not just a rocky planet like Earth. So what is the story here?

The results will appear shortly in a new paper, which will include some theories as to how this happened. You can read more about the discovery and at least one theory at the WiCOR site now.

Study Findings: Potential Survivable Niches for Microbial Life on the Lunar South Pole

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Credit: Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay.

Science Advances abstract of study findings:

Most lunar surface conditions are incredibly harsh for microbial survival. High ultraviolet radiation, temperatures, and energetic particle radiation limit survival over most unprotected lunar surfaces, particularly in equatorial regions where all previous crewed exploration occurred. However, whether these harsh conditions are widespread at lunar poles has not been examined considering topographical effects. Here, we show that recent microorganism survivability data and lunar surface remote sensing reveal likely survivable niches in lunar polar regions. Analysis of topography and latitude-driven surface conditions using remote sensing data and high-resolution illumination models indicates the lunar south pole has substantial regions with persistent low temperatures and ultraviolet flux. Comparing these conditions to survivability data of specific microorganisms, we find that significant lunar polar areas likely have surface conditions amenable to microbial survival. Our findings suggest that lunar polar regions may be less hostile to microbial survival than previously assumed. This does not encompass growth likelihood, but survival in a cryptobiotic state where growth would be possible if habitable conditions were present. Potential microbial survivability at lunar poles is particularly significant given many examined microbes will likely be transported to the Moon during crewed lunar south pole exploration planned in numerous near-term missions. Thoughtfully planning exploration and tracking its impact is key to limiting and understanding potential unintended life transfer to the Moon.

Citation: Saxena, P., Bertone, S., Heather V. Graham, H. et al. Potential survivable niches for microbial life on the lunar south pole. Science Advances, Vol 12, Issue 34 (2026).

DOI: DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aec0811

Study-related stories:

Tech Exporist – “Microbes From Earth May Be Able to Survive the Moon’s South Pole”

Scientific American – “Some Microbes Could Survive on the Moon—That’s a Big Problem for NASA”

The Jerusalem Post– “NASA Finds Some Microbes Could Survive on Moon, Raising Concerns Over Unintended Life Transfer”

Pic of the Week: SpaceX Rocket Part Creates Crater on Moon

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Image (Credit): The two images show the lunar surface before and after the impact of the Falcon 9 upper stage on August 5, 2026. (NASA Goddard/Intuitive Machines)

Earlier this week, NASA released the image above showing the crater created by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage. The upper stage was part of an earlier SpaceX mission from January 2025 that launched the Firefly Blue Ghost 1 mission. This lunar image was captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter between August 11 and 12.

NASA explained the complex process needed to locate the new crater:

Finding the impact site took global coordination among experts and hobbyists. Independent astronomers first identified the rocket’s trajectory using publicly available data. NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, which tracks natural objects that could pose hazards to Earth for the agency’s Planetary Defense program, used this opportunity to test and validate tools and techniques for predicting impacts.

Based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the center incrementally refined the trajectory until identifying the location of impact, which it provided to the Republic of Korea for their Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (Danuri) team. The team used the high-resolution LUTI camera on Danuri a few hours later to image the crater, finding the prediction was accurate to about 0.6 miles.

After capturing images of the crater, the Danuri mission sent coordinates to NASA’s LRO team to help refine their follow-up imaging sequence. Comparing their new crater images with the pre-impact images, the LRO team updated the crater center coordinates: 19.4759°N, 266.7138°E, 511 meters elevation.

Space Quote: Swift Will Be a Shooting Star Later This Year

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Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of An artist’s concept of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in orbit with the spacecraft’s part labeled. (NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab)

“This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting. The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift a chance to carry out more science while advancing capabilities America will need for satellite servicing in the future. We are going to learn everything we can from LINK’s rendezvous attempt and put those lessons to work on the missions that follow.”

–Statement by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman after the failure of the $30 million LINK spacecraft mission to boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher altitude to extend its life. The $500 million observatory was launched in 2004 to capture incoming gamma-ray bursts from the universe. The observatory is expected to burn up in the atmosphere later this year.