Free Republic

India loses Moon satellite links All communication links with the only Indian satellite orbiting the Moon have been lost, India's space agency says. Radio contact with the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was lost abruptly early on Saturday, said India's Bangalore-based Space Research Organization (Isro). The unmanned craft was launched last October in what was billed as a two-year mission of exploration. The launch was regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia. Following its launch from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, it was hoped the robotic probe would orbit the...

A lunar probe from India's first unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-1 has landed on the moon and started sending back its first images. The Moon Impactor Probe (MIP), painted on both sides with the Indian flag, detached itself from the spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 about 100km from the moon's surface and successfully crash-landed on the south pole of the moon at  3.01pm GMT, officials at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. India's space programme began in 1962 and the MIP is the first Indian built object to reach the surface of the moon.