Kanwal Rekhi’s Post

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched **Sputnik 1**, the first artificial satellite, marking a pivotal moment in human history. This **simple metal sphere**, emitting a beeping signal, ignited the Space Race and reshaped global dynamics during the Cold War. Its successful orbit demonstrated not just technological prowess but also the potential for exploration beyond Earth. Sputnik's legacy transcends its initial purpose; it symbolizes **innovation**, **competition**, and the unyielding human spirit to explore the unknown. As we look to the stars today, let us remember that every great achievement begins with a single step—or in this case, a single satellite. Sources [1] Sputnik 1 - Wikipedia https://lnkd.in/gKHWstdY [2] How Sputnik Changed The World - National Space Centre https://lnkd.in/gSv6bbc9 [3] USSR Launches Sputnik - National Geographic Education https://lnkd.in/gFGNeFc2 [4] Sputnik | Satellites, History, & Facts | Britannica https://lnkd.in/g5R3CeDe [5] Sputnik - Russian Studies - Macalester College https://lnkd.in/gTDjButS [6] Sputnik crisis - Wikipedia https://lnkd.in/gX5K7cKd [7] Milestones 1953-1960. Sputnik, 1957 - Office of the Historian https://lnkd.in/gBs6DSGP [8] Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age - NASA https://lnkd.in/grzWMztP

Japan snatches the first seat for a non-American to land on the moon https://lnkd.in/eFVRYfr4 please visit our website  A Japanese astronaut will be the first non-American to land on the moon as part of the U.S. "Artemis" program, giving Washington's ally Tokyo a place that many countries dream of. U.S. President Joe Biden said at a joint news conference in Washington with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that two Japanese astronauts will participate in future American missions, and one of them will be the first astronaut from outside the United States to land on the moon. Kishida, who is on an official visit to the U.S. capital, praised the move as a "tremendous success in the field of space" and announced that Japan would provide a highly advanced lunar vehicle in return. The American Artemis program aims to establish a permanent human presence on the moon, and is scheduled to send the first woman and the first person of color there. Between 1969 and 1972, the Apollo program took 12 American men to the moon, all of them white. They were the only humans ever to walk on the moon. "America will no longer walk on the moon alone," NASA chief Bill Nelson said Wednesday in a video clip posted on social media. He added: "Diplomacy is useful for exploration. Discovery is useful for diplomacy." A spokesman for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) told AFP that JAXA was "very happy," adding that "we will do our best" in this US-Japan cooperation. Read more

I discuss the geopolitics of Space for the Deccan Herald !! #space #china #russia #india #US #spacestation #spacelaunch #spacetechnology https://lnkd.in/eaMacrm2

Competition in space is heating up. This excellent article from The New Yorker  notes, "In the past five years, ten nations have flown or joined more than twenty missions to the moon, half of which were successful....By the end of December 2024, the number of missions could reach thirty. This high cadence partially reflects the fact that the rest of the world is catching up with the NASA of the nineteen-sixties; lunar exploration is now a feasible national pursuit that can pay scientific and technological dividends."    What dividends? Energy, minerals, and deeper space exploration to places like Mars. Big governance issues loom!   It all begs the question: "Who owns the moon?" Good short video (less than 6 minutes). #space #investments #esg #china #india

"China’s first tropical spaceport, Wenchang, is proof of national swagger. During the cold war, China launched rockets from the Gobi desert and other desolate inland spots, for fear of enemy attack. Once China was more confident that it could deter invaders, though, Wenchang became a fine gateway to space. This close to the equator, on the southern island of Hainan, the Earth’s rotation gives a boost to every launch. The palm-fringed coastal site allows the largest Long March rockets to be delivered by sea. Wenchang finally opened in 2016. Russia’s outpost in Wenchang will be next to a vast, partly built space-technology park. On a muggy weekday a forest of cranes rises above future laboratories, a satellite-assembly shed and a radar receiving station. The prime site is evidence that Sino-Russian space co-operation, long held back by mutual suspicion between the countries, is surging ahead. Examples abound in a study published last year by the China Aerospace Studies Institute, a research arm of the us Air Force. The study details Russia’s growing willingness to help China build missile-warning and defence systems, and to sell it advanced rocket engines, overcoming qualms about China selling Russian technology to others. It describes Chinese and Russian agreements to link up their respective satellite-navigation systems, Beidou and Glonass. The two countries have pledged to build a joint base on the Moon and to work together on detecting space debris—a technology also useful for tracking an adversary’s satellites. The study quotes Xi Jinping, China’s supreme leader, linking technical co-operation with Russia to plans for “the reform of the global governance system” (ie, pushing America from centre stage). For years American and Western politicians have taken comfort in the notion that China and Russia were in an unequal, unstable “marriage of convenience” that suited neither very well. Mutual distrust did constrain ties. But look carefully, including in far-off spots like Wenchang, and Sino-Russian interests are aligning in ways that may prove enduring." China’s ties with Russia are growing more solid https://lnkd.in/gmS-2ZcB from The Economist (Subscription may be required) #chinarussia #space

China wants 50 countries involved in its ILRS moon base - China is aiming to work with 50 countries on its ILRS lunar south pole base program as efforts to attract partners continue. - NOTE: “We are open and welcome international cooperation from all countries, including those countries from the 'Global South,' emerging BRICS countries, as well as Western countries,” Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) ahead of International Moon Day, July 20. - The call comes days after NASA canceled the VIPER robotic lunar rover mission that would have searched for ice at the moon’s south pole.  - China aims to build a basic International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) by 2035, and an extended station by 2045. - China is known to have attracted 10 countries to join it and Russia in the venture. These are Venezuela, Belarus, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Egypt, Nicaragua, Thailand, Serbia and, most recently, Kazakhstan. - Turkey is understood to have applied to join. Meanwhile a series of universities, companies, institutes and regional organizations have signed memorandums of understanding on the ILRS. https://lnkd.in/eg_6RsPG

CHINA’S CHANG’E-6 BRINGS BACK SAMPLES FROM FAR SIDE OF MOON: WHAT WAS THE MISSION? TOPIC: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (GS-3) SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS On June 25, 2024, China's Chang’e-6 mission became the first to bring back samples from the Moon's far side. This historic event is celebrated globally by scientists and humanity. Importance of Exploring the Far Side of the Moon · The far side of the Moon, also known as the "dark side," is never visible from Earth due to tidal locking. · It differs from the near side with a thicker crust, more craters, and fewer plains (maria). · Scientists believe that samples from the far side can help solve mysteries about the Moon's origin and evolution. · Analyzing these samples can also explain why the far side is different from the near side. Details of the Chang’e-6 Mission · The mission lasted 53 days and targeted the South Pole-Aitken basin, a large impact crater. · The basin's formation might have exposed materials from the Moon's mantle, offering insights into its interior. The mission involved: · An orbiter circling the Moon. · A lander descending into the basin. · Collecting samples through scooping and drilling. · Transferring samples via an ascent vehicle to the orbiter's service module. · Returning samples to Earth. China is the only country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon's far side, with the Chang’e-4 mission exploring the Von Karman crater in 2019.

CHINA's SPACE DIPLOMACY #China's Chang'e-6 mission brought soils & rocks from the #Moon's far side ever obtained by mankind weighs ~1,935.3 grams and called upon scientists globally to join experimentations & data sharing except #USA due to domestic American Wolf Amendment. Chinese successful lunar missions imposed new faces over US-led Artemis Accord, challenging basic principles of cooperation & technologies for lunar operations. Other stakeholders like Russia, China & Japan will get operational benefits for their respective lunar missions in the next few years. Alternatively, if analyzed what #China is offering/offered to the world: - Shared 4.5% of lunar samples retrieved by Chang'e 5 with the world - Parallel explorative data on samples, challenging #NASA's findings and beliefs acclaimed throughout the world - Anti-thesis on lunar formation, space weathering and evolution mechanism - Open specialised laboratory working on Earth sciences and Space sciences collectively - Whatabouts of a newfound lunar mineral named 'Chang'e stone' - Future opportunities through Chang'e 7 to explore the composition of lunar environment and Chang'e 8 to search for water & other resources. Chinese #spacediplomacy is rocking geopolitics & traditional space rules by offering a parallel pipeline to counter American space hegemony. Secondly, providing manifold options for aspiring nations to mend their space missions under a new underdeveloping code of law. It is apparent that #France, #Japan, #US, #Australia & other 41 signatories of #ArtemisAccord will see it as a challenge to their 'coalition of the willing' for space resource management.

This week, images were beamed back to Earth of China’s flag unfurled on the Moon. It’s the country’s fourth landing there - and the first ever mission to return samples from the Moon’s far side. In the past 12 months, India and Japan have also set down spacecraft on the lunar surface. In February, US firm Intuitive Machines became the first private company to put a lander on the Moon, and there are plenty more set to follow. Meanwhile, Nasa wants to send humans back to the Moon, with its Artemis astronauts aiming for a 2026 landing. China says it will send humans to the Moon by 2030. And instead of fleeting visits, the plan is to build permanent bases. But in an age of renewed great-power politics, this new space race could lead to tensions on Earth being exported to the lunar surface. A UN agreement from 1967 says no nation can own the Moon. Instead, the fantastically named Outer Space Treaty says it belongs to everyone, and that any exploration has to be carried out for the benefit of all humankind and in the interests of all nations. While it sounds very peaceful and collaborative - and it is - the driving force behind the Outer Space Treaty wasn’t cooperation, but the politics of the Cold War. As tensions grew between the US and Soviet Union after World War Two, the fear was that space could become a military battleground, so the key part of the treaty was that no nuclear weapons could be sent into space. More than 100 nations signed up. But this new space age looks different to the one back then. #spacerace #planetary #politics #tension #moon https://lnkd.in/g8Y4MkHs

Do you know the "Moon Sniper"? The "Moon Sniper" spacecraft is a space probe developed by Japan. It was launched in 2022 with the aim of studying the moon and searching for resources such as helium-3, a rare but potentially valuable isotope for nuclear fusion energy. But not only this, the "Moon Sniper" probe uses high-resolution cameras and other instruments to capture images of the lunar surface. These cameras can capture detailed images of the moon as the probe moves around it. The probe can also adjust its orbit to obtain different angles and images of different parts of the moon. In addition to cameras, the probe can also use other instruments, such as spectrometers, to collect information about the composition of the lunar surface. This information is important for understanding the geology of the moon and identifying potential resources, such as helium-3. Once the images and other data are collected by the probe, they are transmitted to Earth where scientists can analyze them and use them for their research. #RashaServices #MoonSniper #MoonImages #Japan