Space

THERE is plenty to be depressed about these days. The year-long Covid-19 pandemic continues to plague people in India and around the world, the government obstinately refuses to engage with the existential issues raised by … Read moreSaluting Perseverance: NASA Rover on Mars

AFTER a long, text-book Chandrayaan-2 mission since launch on June 22, right up till a mere 2 km or so above the lunar surface, the much awaited soft landing of the Vikram Lander in the … Read moreChandrayaan-2 Slips between Cup and Lip

INDIA’S on-going space exploration programme takes its next step with the launch on July 15, 2019 of Chandrayaan-2, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) second venture to the moon. The first mission was mainly conducted … Read moreChandrayaan-2 and the Indian Space Journey

An international team of scientists have discovered a set of seven near earth-sized exoplanets circling a nearby star, named Trappist-1. They have reported this discovery recently in Nature. What is exciting about these exoplanets is … Read moreEarth’s Seven Sisters Only 40 Lightyears Away

On 24th September 2014 when the Mangalyaan spacecraft was inserted into Martian orbit as planned, with Prime Minister Modi present at ISRO’s Mission Control Centre in Bangalore, ISRO declared its maiden interplanetary mission, the Mars … Read moreMangalyaan Success: Putting it in Perspective

India’s Mars Orbiter mission – the Mangalyaan – is now moving into its last and most critical phase. The Mars Orbiter is going to be transferred on 24th September from its current heliocentric or sun-centric … Read moreIndia’s Mars Mission Enter its Final Phase

Scientists and engineers at ISRO, and people all over India, heaved a huge sigh of relief and cheered loudly, at the successful launch on January 5 of the GSLV D5 rocket with an indigenous cryogenic … Read moreGSLV Success: Indian Space Programme Comes of Age

JUST past midnight of November 30, India’s Mars Orbiter or Mangalyaan left earth’s gravitational pull for its ten-month long journey to Mars. This happened after a series of orbit raising manoeuvres undertaken by ISRO in … Read moreThe Mars Mission Moves out of Earth’s Gravity

India’s Mars Mission started off in spectacular fashion on 5th November with a text book launch and precise positioning of the Mangalyaan (literally craft to Mars) spacecraft in its planned orbit around Earth. The successful … Read moreIndia’s Mission to Mars