Latest / Kidcast Daily / Ep215: Current Lunar Missions

Transcript

Ep215: Current Lunar Missions · Kidcast Daily

• 0:08
  Spin the wheel, let's take a ride.
• 0:11
  Sports and science bursting from inside a world of wonder.
• 0:17
  Open wide. Come on kids, let's amplify kid
• 0:22
  cats. Daily starts yours.
• 0:25
  Welcome to Kick Ass Daily, where we bring news, trivia, fun
• 0:29
  facts, and more just for curious kids like you.
• 0:32
  Today, we're going on a journey that's truly out of this world.
• 0:37
  We're going to learn all about current lunar missions,
• 0:39
  including some exciting work by the Indian Space Research
• 0:42
  Organization, or ISRO. Get ready to discover how
• 0:46
  scientists and engineers from around the globe are exploring
• 0:50
  the moon right now. Let's start with the basics.
• 0:53
  The moon is Earth's closest neighbor in space.
• 0:56
  It's about 384,400 kilometers away from us.
• 1:00
  That's more than nine times the distance around Earth at the
• 1:03
  equator. Even though astronauts first
• 1:06
  walked on the moon more than 50 years ago, there's still so much
• 1:09
  we don't know about it. That's why space agencies keep
• 1:13
  sending new missions to take pictures, collect data, and even
• 1:17
  look for water. So what exactly is a lunar
• 1:19
  mission? A lunar mission is a project
• 1:22
  where scientists send spacecraft, robots or sometimes
• 1:26
  even astronauts to the moon. The goal is to learn more about
• 1:29
  its surface, its rocks, its history, and even to see if
• 1:32
  people could one day live there. Right now, instead of sending
• 1:36
  humans, most missions use robots or Landers that don't need food,
• 1:41
  water, or air. Let's talk about some of the big
• 1:43
  players in lunar missions today. There are a few countries
• 1:47
  exploring the Moon, including the United States, China, India,
• 1:50
  Russia, and some countries in Europe.
• 1:53
  They use different kinds of spacecraft, like orbiters,
• 1:56
  Landers, and Rovers. An orbiter goes around the moon
• 1:59
  in a circle, taking pictures and measuring things like
• 2:02
  temperature and radiation. A Lander touches down on the
• 2:05
  surface and studies the moon up close.
• 2:09
  Some Landers even have wheels or legs and can move around.
• 2:13
  These are called Rovers. Now let's zoom in on some
• 2:16
  current and recent lunar missions.
• 2:18
  One of the most exciting is India's Chandrayaan 3 mission
• 2:22
  run by ISRO, which stands for Indian Space Research
• 2:26
  Organization. ISRO is India's national space
• 2:30
  agency. Chandrayaan means moon craft in
• 2:33
  Sanskrit, one of India's oldest languages.
• 2:36
  Chandran 3 was launched in July 2023 and became famous worldwide
• 2:42
  because it made India the first country to land a spacecraft
• 2:45
  near the moon's South Pole. Why is the South Pole of the
• 2:48
  moon such a big deal? Scientists think there could be
• 2:51
  frozen water there, hidden in craters that never get sunlight.
• 2:55
  Water is super important for future astronauts.
• 2:58
  It can be used for drinking, making oxygen or even turning
• 3:02
  into rocket fuel. The Chandran The three mission
• 3:05
  included a Lander called Vikram and a small Rover called
• 3:09
  Pragyon. Vikram landed safely and then
• 3:12
  let Pragyon roll out onto the moon surface.
• 3:15
  The Rover explored the area, took pictures and studied the
• 3:19
  soil and rocks. Did you know that Pragyan means
• 3:22
  wisdom in Sanskrit? The Rover was about as big as a
• 3:25
  school backpack and moved very slowly to avoid tipping over.
• 3:29
  Chandray and Three's main goals were to show that India could
• 3:32
  land safely, move a Rover and do science experiments.
• 3:36
  It was a big success and made lots of people in India and
• 3:40
  around the world proud. The Rover and Lander sent back
• 3:43
  lots of data about the moon's surface, including information
• 3:46
  about chemicals in the soil. This helps scientists learn more
• 3:50
  about how the moon was formed and if there really is water in
• 3:53
  those shadowy craters. Let's take a look at another
• 3:56
  lunar mission that's happening right now, NASA's Artemis
• 3:59
  program. NASA is the United States space
• 4:02
  agency, and Artemis is their big plan to return humans to the
• 4:06
  moon. The Artemis program will
• 4:08
  eventually send astronauts to the lunar South Pole, just like
• 4:12
  Chandrayon three. The first mission, Artemis I,
• 4:15
  launched in 2022, it sent an uncruded spacecraft called Orion
• 4:20
  around the moon and back to Earth.
• 4:23
  Even though there were no people on board, the mission tested all
• 4:26
  the systems needed to keep astronauts safe for future
• 4:29
  flights. NASA is also working with other
• 4:32
  space agencies, like the European Space Agency to build a
• 4:35
  space station called Gateway. Gateway will orbit the moon and
• 4:39
  help astronauts travel to and from the surface.
• 4:42
  In the next few years, Artemis 2 will send astronauts around the
• 4:46
  moon, and Artemis 3 will land astronauts on the surface.
• 4:50
  Did you know that Artemis is the name of a Greek goddess who is
• 4:53
  the twin sister of Apollo? The Apollo mission sent the
• 4:56
  first humans to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s.
• 5:00
  China is another country with big plans for the moon.
• 5:04
  The China National Space Administration, or CNSA, has
• 5:07
  sent several missions, including Chunga 4, which landed on the
• 5:11
  far side of the moon in 2019. The far side is the part of the
• 5:16
  moon that always faces away from Earth.
• 5:19
  It's hard to reach because you can't send signals directly from
• 5:22
  Earth. So China used a special relay
• 5:24
  satellite to talk to the Lander and Rover.
• 5:27
  The Chunga 4 Rover called You 22 is still exploring and sending
• 5:32
  back data. U2 means Jade Rabbit in Chinese,
• 5:35
  which is a symbol in Chinese culture.
• 5:38
  China also sent the Changa 5 mission in 2020.
• 5:42
  This mission brought back rocks and soil from the moon, which
• 5:45
  scientists are now studying in laboratories.
• 5:48
  Bringing back samples is important because it lets
• 5:51
  scientists learn about the moon's history and how it has
• 5:54
  changed over time. Russia is another country that
• 5:57
  has sent missions to the moon. In 2023, they launched Luna 25,
• 6:02
  a Lander meant to study the South Pole region.
• 6:05
  Unfortunately, Luna 25 crashed during landing, but Russia plans
• 6:10
  to try again in the future. Space missions are tough, and
• 6:13
  even when things don't go as planned, scientists learn a lot
• 6:17
  for the next try. There are also private companies
• 6:20
  getting involved in lunar exploration.
• 6:22
  For example, companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are
• 6:26
  working with NASA to develop rockets and Landers for future
• 6:29
  missions. One company called Intuitive
• 6:32
  Machines is working on a Lander called Nova Sea that will carry
• 6:36
  experiments and equipment to the moon.
• 6:38
  Let's talk about why so many countries and companies are
• 6:41
  interested in the moon right now.
• 6:43
  First, there's the search for water.
• 6:45
  Water is important for life and could help astronauts stay on
• 6:49
  the moon for longer periods. Second, the moon is a great
• 6:53
  place to practice living and working in space.
• 6:56
  If humans want to go to Mars or other planets one day, the moon
• 6:59
  is a good place to test out new ideas and technologies.
• 7:02
  Third, scientists want to learn about the moon's history.
• 7:06
  The moon doesn't have air or weather, so it's surface has
• 7:10
  hardly changed for billions of years.
• 7:12
  Studying rocks and soil from the moon can tell us about how our
• 7:16
  solar system was formed. Did you know that the moon has
• 7:19
  moon quakes? Just like earthquakes on Earth,
• 7:22
  the moon sometimes shakes and rumbles.
• 7:25
  Scientists use special tools called seismometers to measure
• 7:28
  them. By studying moon quakes,
• 7:31
  scientists learn about what's inside the moon.
• 7:34
  Let's go back to ISRO and India's lunar missions before
• 7:38
  Chandran 3. ISRO launched Chandran One in
• 7:42
  2008. Chandran 1 was an orbiter that
• 7:46
  went around the moon and made a very important discovery.
• 7:49
  It found evidence of water molecules on the moon surface.
• 7:53
  This was a huge surprise because people used to think the moon
• 7:56
  was completely dry. Chandran One also helped make
• 8:00
  detailed maps of the moon. India's success with Chandran 3
• 8:04
  has inspired other countries and shown that you don't need the
• 8:07
  biggest budget to do amazing things in space.
• 8:10
  The Chandran missions used creative engineering and smart
• 8:14
  problem solving to explore new places on the moon.
• 8:17
  What's next for lunar missions? ISRO is already planning
• 8:21
  Chandran 4, which could bring back samples from the moon, just
• 8:24
  like China's Changa 5. NASA's Artemis program will send
• 8:28
  astronauts to the moon's South Pole.
• 8:31
  China is planning to build a research station on the moon by
• 8:34
  the 20 thirties. Scientists hope that one day
• 8:38
  astronauts from many countries will work together on the moon,
• 8:41
  just like they do on the International Space Station.
• 8:44
  Here are some quick Did you know facts about the Moon and lunar
• 8:47
  missions? Did you know that the Moon has
• 8:49
  mountains, valleys, and even lava plains called Maria?
• 8:53
  These Maria are huge, flat areas made from ancient volcanic
• 8:57
  eruptions. Did you know that the Moon's
• 8:59
  gravity is only 1/6 as strong as Earth's?
• 9:02
  That means if you weigh 36 kilograms on Earth, you'd weigh
• 9:06
  only about 6 kilograms on the Moon.
• 9:08
  That's why astronauts can jump so high there.
• 9:11
  Did you know that it takes about 3 days for a spacecraft to
• 9:14
  travel from Earth to the moon? And did you know that the moon
• 9:17
  doesn't have any air, so the sky always looks black?
• 9:20
  Even during the day, the temperature on the moon can
• 9:23
  change a lot. In the sun, it can get hotter
• 9:26
  than boiling water, and in the shade, it can get colder than
• 9:29
  the coldest freezer. Let's recap what we've learned
• 9:33
  today. Lunar missions are projects
• 9:35
  where scientists send spacecraft to explore the moon.
• 9:38
  Right now, countries like India, the United States, China and
• 9:42
  Russia are all working on lunar missions.
• 9:45
  ISRO Chandran 3 mission made history by landing near the moon
• 9:49
  South Pole. Nasas Artemis program will soon
• 9:52
  send astronauts back to the moon.
• 9:55
  China has landed on the far side and brought back moon rocks.
• 9:59
  Private companies are also joining the adventure.
• 10:02
  That's all we have for today. Thanks for joining Kit Cast
• 10:05
  Daily. Keep exploring, keep asking
• 10:07
  questions, and remember the universe is full of amazing
• 10:11
  places waiting for us to discover.
• 10:13
  See you next time. For more fun facts and trivia,
• 10:16
  grab. Your breakfast feeling fine,
• 10:20
  adventures waiting? Don't be late.
• 10:23
  Today's the day we celebrate Kit cast daily.