Pixxel, a satellite-image start-up based in Bengaluru, has raised $36 million in funding from Alphabet’s Google, marking the first major investment in the Indian space sector since the government’s privatisation policy was launched in April. Pixxel was established in 2019 and is building a constellation of satellites capable of identifying mineral deposits or the productivity
Science
India’s third mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-3, will launch in July, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somnath. The mission will demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface, as well as develop and demonstrate new technologies required for interplanetary missions. Chandrayaan-3 Mission Objectives The Chandrayaan-3 mission
On Friday, NASA announced that Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin had won a coveted contract to build a spacecraft that will send astronauts to and from the moon’s surface. This decision will give the agency a second ride to the moon under its Artemis program, after it awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX $3 billion in
India is aiming to increase its private space companies’ share of the global launch market by five times within the next decade. This ambition is encouraged by high-profile successes seen elsewhere, such as those of SpaceX. India’s private launch market has increased significantly since the country opened the way for private launches in 2020, with
Neuralink, the brain-chip startup founded by Elon Musk, is facing scrutiny from US lawmakers over the make-up of its panel overseeing animal testing. Representatives Earl Francis Blumenauer and Adam Schiff have drafted a letter to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting an investigation into the company’s oversight of experiments which resulted in the unnecessary
May 11 is a significant day in India as it marks National Technology Day, which commemorates a series of underground nuclear tests conducted in Rajasthan in 1998. The successful completion of these tests established India as a nuclear power and led to the celebration of the scientists who made it possible. Today, National Technology Day
China is considering the use of 3D printing technology to construct buildings on the moon, according to China Daily. This move comes as Beijing strengthens its plans for long-term lunar habitation. China’s Chang’e 5 uncrewed probe brought back China’s first lunar soil samples to Earth during the 2020 lunar mission. China aims to land an
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched two Singaporean satellites for Earth observation into their intended orbit. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C55) was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 14:19 hours IST. The launch marks the 57th flight of the PSLV and demonstrates its reliability and suitability for commercial
Several conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), challenging its decision to approve SpaceX’s expanded rocket launch operations without conducting a more comprehensive environmental study. The latest FAA license granted to SpaceX has allowed its next-generation Starship rocket to be tested on its first flight. However, the mission ended with
Ispace, a Japanese start-up, has failed in its attempt to carry out the first private moon landing. The Hakuto-R Mission 1 (M1) lander lost contact and is believed to have crashed on the lunar surface. The cause of the failure is unknown, but the startup has suggested that the lander’s altitude measurement system miscalculated the