In 2019, the Indian Space Research Organisation faced a significant setback when their attempted moon landing resulted in debris scattered across the lunar surface. In contrast, ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 lander recently achieved a successful landing near the moon’s south pole, highlighting the unpredictable and challenging nature of space missions.
- The unpredictable nature of space missions is showcased through the recent failures and successes. India’s unsuccessful attempt in 2019 was followed by a successful landing with Chandrayaan-3.
- The Luna 25 mission, a Russian attempt, unfortunately, resulted in a collision with the lunar surface, further emphasising the inherent risks and complexities of space exploration.
- Despite nearly six decades since the first successful moon landing, space missions, particularly those directed towards the moon, are still perilous and filled with uncertainties.
- The reasons for the failure of these missions and the secrets behind the successes of other nations and space agencies in achieving their space exploration goals remain topics of interest.
Lunar Landings: A Short Summary
- The closest planetary body to Earth is the Moon, located approximately 400,000 kilometres away. Thus, it was the obvious first choice for human exploration.
- Despite this, only four nations have managed to perform successful “soft landings” on the Moon, where the spacecraft survives the landing.
- The USSR was the first to accomplish this feat with the Luna 9 mission in February 1966.
- The United States followed shortly after in June 1966, with the Surveyor 1 mission.
- Many years later, China achieved a soft landing with the Chang’e 3 mission in 2013.
- India is the latest country to join this exclusive club, landing Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface.
- Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Russia, the European Space Agency, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Italy are among the countries that have achieved varying levels of success in lunar missions. Their accomplishments encompass a range of achievements, from fly-bys and orbiters to deliberate or inadvertent impacts.
A Brief History Of Recent Lunar Mission Failures
- On August 19, 2023, Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, reported that the Luna 25 spacecraft lost contact. This happened after the spacecraft received a command to lower its orbit around the Moon.
- Although Russia has a rich history in space exploration, the Luna 25 mission unfortunately failed. While the exact reason remains unknown, it is speculated that Russia’s limited resources and heightened tensions resulting from the Ukraine war might have contributed to the failure.
- In April 2019, the Israeli Beresheet lander crashed due to a gyroscope failure during the braking process. Communication loss prevented the ground crew from resetting the component.
- In September 2019, India’s Vikram lander (Chandrayaan-2) experienced a crash landing on the lunar surface.
- Subsequently, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of the impact site, unveiling scattered debris spanning several kilometres in multiple locations.
The Challenges Of Space Exploration
- Space missions, especially those intended for lunar exploration, entail high risks, and only just over half are successful.
- Even the success rate of small satellite missions to Earth’s orbit varies greatly, with successful outcomes ranging between 40% and 70%.
- When comparing uncrewed missions to crewed missions, a striking contrast emerges. The latter boasts an impressive success rate of 98%, largely attributed to the invaluable human element. The involvement of humans brings heightened focus, efficient resource allocation, and a commitment to prioritising crew safety, even if it means accepting delays.
- Numerous factors contribute to the high failure rate of uncrewed missions, including technological hurdles, lack of expertise, and the political context within each country.
Facing The Hurdles Of Space Exploration
We’re looking at creating an advanced space civilisation, but it comes with significant challenges.
- Achieving long-duration, long-distance space travel involves solving various difficult issues.
- Several potential solutions could be explored, such as improving radiation shielding, cultivating self-sustaining ecosystems, designing autonomous robots, and enabling zero-gravity manufacturing. These advancements hold the promise of enhancing our capabilities and addressing the challenges we face.
- We also need to explore speculative solutions like faster-than-light travel, instantaneous communication, and artificial gravity.
- Progress will be gradual, with engineers and space enthusiasts consistently investing their intellect, time, and energy into space missions.
- Over time, these missions will become more reliable.
- We anticipate a future where the safety of riding a spacecraft matches that of driving a car, bringing us closer to a new era of exploration.