Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Russia and India Race to the Moon

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Russia and India Race to the Moon · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  And what has been framed as a modern space race to the lunar
• 0:03
  South Pole? Both India and Russia have
• 0:05
  embarked on ambitious lunar missions.
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  Although it's easy to become caught up and who will touch
• 0:09
  down first, these missions represent a wealth more than a
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  competition. And India's latest lunar
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  venture, Shandri and Three, commenced this journey on July
• 0:19
  14th, 2023, entering the Moon's orbit on August 5th.
• 0:23
  In the craft is currently executing orbit reduction
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  maneuvers, preparing for a landing attempt anticipated for
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  August 23rd. Now the target site for the
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  Shundry and Three is situated at 69.37 degrees South and 32.35
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  degrees east. And solar considerations are
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  paramount for this mission as the Sun's rise at this location
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  will illuminate the area by August 21st, thereby providing
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  the required power for the solar power.
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  Vikram Lander in the Pregian Rover.
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  Now the estimated landing time is 1747 IST.
• 1:02
  That's 8:17 AM EDT on August 23rd.
• 1:08
  Both the Vikram Lander and the Pregium Rover are solar powered
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  and have a mission lifetime of 1 lunar day.
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  That's approximately 14 Earth days.
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  This makes the timing of the landing vital to the mission
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  success in the amount of scientific exploration that can
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  be carried out. Now on August 23rd when this
• 1:27
  lands, please take a second, go over to YouTube and find Space
• 1:32
  News Pod and subscribe because we'll be bringing you that
• 1:36
  mission live on that Channel. So please take a second go over
• 1:40
  there youtube.com/space News Pod, it'll be live for you and
• 1:44
  I'll be there carrying out the mission with everybody else from
• 1:48
  around the world. So let's get into some Russia
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  Luna 25 mission that's happening at the same time.
• 1:56
  Both missions are going to the Moon.
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  And in contrast, Russia's Luna 25 launched on August 10th, 2023
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  and it marks its first lunar exploration since 1976.
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  And the last Soviet era moon mission was Luna 24.
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  And unlike India's craft, Luna 25 took a more direct route and
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  an August 21st landing is possible now.
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  Luna 20 Five's target is the Boguslowski crater at 72.9
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  degrees South and 43.2 degrees east.
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  Now the sun will rise over this location earlier on August 20th,
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  possibly allowing for a quicker landing.
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  Additionally, Luna 25 is equipped with a Radioisotope
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  Thermoelectric generator or an RTG, which enables the Lander to
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  function for at least a year. This makes the landing time
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  within the lunar local day much less critical.
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  Now, though the fascination with this new age space race is
• 2:56
  understandable, the characterization as a
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  competition with an ambitious finish line and no tangible
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  prize could be misleading. There's more to these missions
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  than mere rivalry. National prestige and potential
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  implications for future missions are significant.
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  Moreover, the opportunities for international cooperation must
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  not be underestimated. Now, scientific exploration is
• 3:19
  also a vital component. Both Luno 25 and Chandri and
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  three are in polar lunar orbits and with the Moon rotating
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  beneath them as they orbit above, and the respective
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  landing locations offer different insights into the
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  lunar environment. Now, lunar landing is a complex
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  and very risky endeavor. And while the Moon has witnessed
• 3:41
  multiple robotic landings, only China has successfully managed
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  it this century with its Shanghai missions.
• 3:49
  Russia's space exploration has faced its share of challenges,
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  with the last interplanetary mission, Phobos Grunt, failing
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  in 2011. Now Luna 25, delayed for over a
• 4:00
  decade, underwent late stage adjustments to its landing
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  navigation system. India, on the other hand, seeks
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  to join an exclusive club of nations to achieve a soft lunar
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  landing following lessons learns from the failed attempt of
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  Chandrian 2 in 2019. And the stakes are high for both
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  nations. The global community will be
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  watching both of their outcomes now.
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  The lunar South Pole has been the focal point of international
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  intrigue due to the possible presence of tramped water ice.
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  This could be harnessed for propulsion or sustaining lunar
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  habitats, and both India and Russia aim to land further South
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  than any previous lunar mission. The sites aren't truly polar
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  though, but their high latitude locations are new territory for
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  exploration. Now let's take a look at the
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  spacecrafts. The mass of both Landers is
• 4:54
  pretty comparable. Luna 25 is around £3860.00 with
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  sundry and threes, Vikram Lander at 3862 pounds, just £2.00
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  heavier and that includes a 57 pound Rover.
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  A Luna 25 carries 8 scientific experiments including excavation
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  and water ice detection devices, and Vickerm will carry 4 science
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  payloads focusing on soil temperature measurements, while
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  pregium offers regolith studies. Now these missions also under
• 5:28
  score the role of international collaboration common trait in
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  space missions. Russia has faced isolation since
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  its invasion of the Ukraine in February of 2022, resulting in
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  European Space agencies withdrawal from lunar missions.
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  And in contrast, India's mission is supported by Isa's network of
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  deep space stations and NASA has contributed a retro reflector.
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  Now the success or failure of these missions may have
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  repercussions for future ventures.
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  Russia has plans for further lunar probes and potential
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  collaboration with China. India is planning a joint
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  mission with Japan named Lunar Polar Exploration Mission, or
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  Loop X, and is signed up to the Artemis Accords, which will be
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  using a SpaceX Starship for the human landing system on Artemis
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  4, possibly Artemis 3, but they changed that around a little
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  bit, so more than likely Artemis 4 Now.
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  While it may be intriguing to speculate who will land first,
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  the more significant accomplishment lies in the
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  scientific exploration and the international cooperation of
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  both of these missions With an August 23rd rendezvous with
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  destiny, the Chandrian 3 and Luna 25 missions are the
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  embodiment of human endeavor and a testament to how space
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  exploration unites our shared quest for knowledge and
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  understanding. Now there's many mysteries in
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  the universe, and every step on the lunar surface offers a leap
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  towards answering the eternal questions of where did the lunar
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  surface come from? Where did the moon come from,
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  and where did we come from? Thank you everybody for
• 7:09
  listening to the show today. Make sure to go over to
• 7:11
  youtube.com/space News Pod for our live coverage of this
• 7:17
  landing. Please take care of yourselves
• 7:19
  and each other and I'll see you in the next one.
• 7:22
  Thanks for tuning in today. Don't forget to level up your
• 7:25
  experience by becoming a premium member.
• 7:27
  Check the show notes for the link and join our exclusive
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