Overview of the Flight Dynamics Subsystem for Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter Mission

Korea’s first lunar mission, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), aims to launch in mid-2022 via the Space-X Falcon-9 launch vehicle. For the successful flight operation of KPLO, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has designed and developed the Flight Dynamics Subsystem (FDS). FDS is one of the subsystems in the KPLO Deep-Space Ground System (KDGS), which is responsible for the overall flight dynamics-related operation. FDS is currently successfully implemented and meets all of the requirements derived from the critical design phases. The current work addresses the design and implementation results for the KPLO FDS. Starting from overviews on KPLO payloads, bus systems, and mission trajectory characteristics, a review on KDGS is also treated briefly. Details on the design philosophy, unique characteristics, and functionalities of all six different modules nested inside the FDS with its Graphical User Interface (GUI) design are discussed. Moreover, efforts currently devoted to the flight operation preparation of the KPLO are summarized, including many collaborative works between KARI and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) teams.

THE LOST INDIAN CHANDRAYAAN 2 LANDER VIKRAM AND ROVER PRAGYAAN FOUND INTACT IN SINGLE PIECE ON THE MOON

The Lunar Lander Vikram of the Moon Mission Chandrayaan 2 of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) lost communication with the Lunar Orbiter and the mission control nearly 2.1 kms above the lunar surface during its landing on the Moon on 7th September, 2019. The exact location and the sight of the lost lander and rover are still elusive. We present here the exact location and first images of the lander Vikram and rover Pragyaan sighted on the lunar surface. It is evident from the processed images that the lander was intact and in single piece on landing away from the scheduled site and its ramp was deployed to successfully release the rover Pragyan on to the lunar surface. This contradicts earlier reports that the lander was disintegrated into small pieces and debris which were scattered far away from the proposed landing site.

The Claim for a first insight of Vikram Lander on moon

The Claim for a First insight of Viram Lander on Moon.CHANDRAYAAN- 2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1. As of September 2019, it consists of a lunar orbiter, which included the Vikram lander, andPragyan -the lunar rover. All of which were developed in India. The main scientific objective of this mission was to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.Chandrayaan-2 Chandrayaan-2 composite (Tecnical Specifications Mission type-Lunar orbiter, Lander and RoverOperator Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)COSPAR ID2019-042ASATCAT no.44441Websitewww.isro.gov.in/chandrayaan2-home-0Mission duration-Orbiter: ~ 7 yearsVikram lander: 14 days (planned) ;[1][2]Achieved: 0 days (landing failure)Pragyan rover: 14 days (planned);[2]Achieved: 0 days (landing failure)Spacecraft properties Manufacturer:Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)Launch mass Combined (wet) : 3,850 kg(8,490 lb) [3][4][5]Combined (dry): 1,308 kg (2,884 lb)[6]Orbiter (wet): 2,379 kg (5,245 lb)[4][5]Orbiter (dry): 682 kg (1,504 lb)[6]Vikram lander (wet): 1,471 kg (3,243 lb)[4][5]Vikram lander (dry): 626 kg (1,380 lb)[6]Pragyan rover: 27 kg (60 lb)[4] [5] PowerOrbiter: 1 kW (1.3 hp)[7]Vikram lander: 650 W[8]Pragyan rover: 50 W[8] Start of Mission Launch date:22 July 2019, 14:43:12 IST (09:13:12 UTC)[9]Rocket- GSLV Mark III M1[10] [11]Launch site-Satish Dhawan Space Centre (Second Launch Pad )Agency- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)Moon orbiter Orbital insertion: 20 August 2019, - 09:02 IST(03:32UTC)[12[13]Orbital parameters-Pericynthion altitude100 km (62 mi)[14] Apocynthion altitude100 km (62 mi)[14]Moon lander Space craft component Rover Landing date: 7 September 2019, 01:53 IST (failure)(6 September 2019, 20:23 UTC)[13][15]Landing site Lunar south pole (intended)Chandrayaan programme - Scheduled as-← Chandrayaan-1<-- Chandrayaan-2← Chandrayaan-3 (Under Process) The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was launched on its mission to the Moon from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Andhra Pradesh on 22 July 2019 at 2.43 p.m. IST (09:13 UTC) by a GSLV Mark III M1. The craft reached the Moon's orbit on 20 August 2019 and began orbital positioning manoeuvres for the Landing of the Vikram lander at Moon Surface. The Lander and the Rover were scheduled to land on the near side of the Moon, in the south polar region at a latitude of about 70° South on 6 September 2019 and conduct scientific experiments for one lunar day, which approximates to two Earth weeks. A successful soft landing of the Lander would have made India the fourth country after the Soviet Union, United States and China to do so.However, the lander deviated from its intended trajectory while attempting to land on 6 September 2019, which caused a 'hard landing. According to a failure analysis report submitted to ISRO, the crash was caused by a software glitch. In the quest to locate the lost Lander, Two subsequent image sequences were acquired on October 14,15 and November 11, 2019 .The LROC team scoured the surrounding area in these new mosaics and found the impact site at 70.8810 degree South, 22.7840 degrees East, 834 m elevation and was supposed with associated debris field. The November 2019 mosaic had the best pixel scale 0.7 meter/ per pixel , With a better light condition . Though, no any claim since been made about the wellness of Vikram Lander. An effort is being made by (me) Mr Jagmohan saxena to find the whereabouts of the (lost ) Vikram Lander and it is supposed that the Pics of Vikram Lander found are exactly on the same Southpole Coordinates (near site) where it was intended to touch down for a soft landing. IT is -70.88087° Latitude and 24.26206° Longitude with a pixel size of 0.50m/px. The final Version of CONFIRMATION of location of Vikram Lander at moon is seek Officially with the launching agency ISRO. JAGMOHAN SAXENA 1 E 19 JNV colony, Bikaner [email protected] Reference- Chandrayaan-2, Wikipedialroc.asu.eduNASASpace.com

KAGUYA observation of global emissions of indigenous carbon ions from the Moon

Carbon is a volatile element that has a considerable influence on the formation and evolution of planetary bodies, although it was previously believed to be depleted in the Moon. We present observations by the lunar orbiter KAGUYA of carbon ions emitted from the Moon. These emissions were distributed over almost the total lunar surface, but amounts were differed with respect to lunar geographical areas. The estimated emission fluxes to space were ~5.0 × 104 per square centimeter per second, which is greater than possible ongoing supplies from the solar wind and micrometeoroids. Our estimates demonstrate that indigenous carbon exists over the entire Moon, supporting the hypothesis of a carbon-containing Moon, where the carbon was embedded at its formation and/or was transported billions of years ago.

A global rockfall map of the Moon powered by AI and Big Data

<p>Under certain conditions, meter to house-sized boulders fall, jump, and roll from topographic highs to topographic lows, a landslide type termed rockfall. On the Moon, these features have first been observed in Lunar Orbiter photographs taken during the pre-Apollo era. Understanding the drivers of lunar rockfall can provide unique information about the seismicity and erosional state of the lunar surface, however this requires high resolution mapping of the spatial distribution and size of these features. Currently, it is believed that lunar rockfalls are driven by moonquakes, impact-induced shaking, and thermal fatigue. Since the Lunar Orbiter and Apollo programs, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) returned more than 2 million high-resolution (NAC) images from the lunar surface. As the manual extraction of rockfall size and location from image data is time intensive, the vast majority of NAC images have not yet been analyzed, and the distribution and number of rockfalls on the Moon remains unknown. Demonstrating the potential of AI for planetary science applications, we deployed a Convolutional Neural Network in combination with Google Cloud’s advanced computing capabilities to scan through the entire NAC image archive. We identified 136,610 rockfalls between 85°N and 85°S and created the first global, consistent rockfall map of the Moon. This map enabled us to analyze the spatial distribution and density of rockfalls across lunar terranes and geomorphic regions, as well as across the near- and farside, and the northern and southern hemisphere. The derived global rockfall map might also allow for the identification and localization of recent seismic activity on or underneath the surface of the Moon and could inform landing site selection for future geophysical surface payloads of Artemis, CLPS, or other missions. The used CNN will soon be available as a tool on NASA JPL’s Moon Trek platform that is part of NASA’s Solar System Treks (trek.nasa.gov/moon/).</p>