As we all know, more than half a century ago, NASA landed on the moon several times. This technology that was implemented more than 50 years ago now seems to have regressed! Why is landing in the moon so difficult?
There is no doubt that all this reminds us that despite the multiple landings of humanity on the Moon in the Apollo Project half a century ago, it is still a difficult task. More than a third of 30 soft landing attempts by space agencies and companies around the world failed, including Israel’s launch of Bereshit this year and India’s launch of vikram (still in contact). The only thing that is gratifying this year is that China's Chang'e-4 successfully landed on the moon, once again establishing our position in space exploration!
It is very difficult to land on the moon! This is the conclusion that Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) came to when he tried to lose contact with the Vikram lunar lander when he landed on the South Pole of the Moon on September 7. India was originally planning to become the fourth country to successfully land on the surface of the moon, creating history by successfully landing in a place other countries had never been to. However, the expected results were not achieved. Vikram lost contact with the moon 2.1 km after landing, and then discovered Vikram on the moon in lunar orbit the next day. Although NASA is still busy restoring communications with Vikram, the unpleasant landing process appears to be a painful response to the situation earlier this year, when an Israeli private robot lander, Beresit, also crashed into our natural satellite, the moon.
Some also say that almost all failed lunar landing missions are driverless, which may indicate that it is beneficial to have humans helm when problems arise. In the Apollo era, human eyes and reactions helped to successfully land. Neil Neil Armstrong controlled the Apollo 11 lunar module to fly to a safer landing site after discovering rocky terrain at the scheduled landing site.
But times have changed. Because they were all experimental test pilots, the astronauts at that time were expected to have a certain degree of control. Now that the technology is more automated, engineers hope future human explorers can rely on such systems to help them travel safely to and from the moon's surface. Just like China's Chang'e-4 probe, , landed on the back of the moon, successfully deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover, bringing some comfort to those who are worried about difficulties in landing the moon.
But why is landing in the moon so difficult?
Alicia dwyer Shiancioro, an aerospace engineer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, said many attempts to land on the moon have failed in recent years, but none of them were caused by a specific event. To land on the moon, she said, “many things have to happen in the exact right order.” “If any of them doesn’t do that, the trouble comes.”
is the issue of entering the moon’s orbit first, which is a key point. The Apollo's Saturn V carrier rocket is loaded with enough propellant to send astronauts to the moon in just three days. However, to save fuel costs, the recent Chandrayaan-2 mission of the Indian Space Research Organization used a more roundabout route and took more than a month to reach the moon.
Once in orbit, the probe will use NASA's deep space network to keep in touch with the Earth. Deep Space Network consists of three facilities located in different parts of the earth, which are covered with parabolic antenna that can be continuously monitored and in contact with remote space robot detectors. Communication failures may be part of the cause of Vikram's accident, as the agency lost contact with the lander just 2.1 km from the moon's surface.
Let’s talk about Israel’s Beret shit. There is little room for error when the detector screams and rushes towards the landing site at missile-like speed. According to the Times of Israel, on April 11, the data transmission equipment of the Israeli Bereset lander failed, causing the engine to be completely shut down.
On Earth, engineers can rely on GPS to help guide autonomous cars, but there is no corresponding system on other celestial bodies, especially when you are driving quickly in a vacuum with almost no information and have to slow down. No matter who you are and what you want to do, all seemingly simple operations become difficult, and that's how difficult it is to land on the moon.
New Journey
NASA is currently working with commercial companies to send robots to the moon in the next few years. Scientists say these future lunar navigators rely solely on their sensors. That's why NASA is designing an instrument to ensure that these robots land smoothly. It can be installed on the chassis of the aircraft, scan the terrain beyond time and space, look for dangers such as rocks and craters, and correct the course.
This instrument can be used in private spacecraft and NASA's future missions. The technology will be tested during the NASA-launched Mars 2020 rover drop. The Mars 2020 probe will be launched next year and is scheduled to land on Mars in February 2021.
