An update: NASA publishes information and scientific data:

http://m3science.geo.brown.edu/?cat=3

ISRO has released more images today from its on-board Terrain Mapping Camera or TMC.

Link: http://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan/htmls/ImageMoon.htm

The ISRO Chairman also announced today that Chandrayaan II design is ready and will land on the Moon in the year 2012, also stating India's Mars mission will fly in 2013 among many other announcements.

News report: http://www.hinduonnet.com/holnus/000200812241582.htm

pradeep

Thank you, Pradeep - a welcome update. Now I look forward to more news about MIP! But I suspect we will have to wait until LPSC for that.

Phil Stooke

I do not know a specific answer to your question. But I do not think putting data/information online is too much of a priority for ISRO.

Places where you may find the data analysis etc earlier are probably journals or publications. You should also watch their newsletter (half-yearly) or their Annual Report.

What is LPSC?

Please, my dear Zvezdichko, don't take this personally; it's just that I've been dying for a chance to use it since someone did it to me..!

http://tinyurl.com/988nwg

Oh, yes, I see. It's "London Practical Shooting Club"

And Merry Christmas.

Freaking awesome link, thanks ^_^

By the way, when is that descent probe video coming out?

And Merry Christmas to everyone here.

Looks like more news coming from Chandrayaan 1. This time from NASA's on-board instrument, the Moon Minerealogical Mapper or M3 having found iron-based minerals.

Here's the news link: http://www.hinduonnet.com/holnus/000200812252113.htm

This is old. Your data is already available: http://m3science.geo.brown.edu/

http://twitter.com/Chandrayaan1

Twitter reports that there will be a press release with results by the end of January.

Phil

Images of the far side of the Moon? Where? I cannot find the images.

http://www.isro.org/pslv-c11/photos/moon_images.htm

Here! Published just a minute ago... I'm probably the first one to see them!

hi,


A frequent question here was whatever happened to the Moon Impact Probe images. The images are currently at Ahmedabad, India's Physical Research Laboratory. There is said to be about 3200 frames of images with the last one captured just 2 to 3 kms above the surface. You will have to wait for some more time for the video.

The same news story also tried to show why India's 3D atlas map would probably be better than any of the ones already released so far would be. Instead of posting the whole thing here, I'll leave you with the news report (this is not a press release from ISRO).

ISRO doesn't work at the speed of NASA/ESA or doesn't do too many press releases and information releases like NASA/ESA. Coming from ISRO, absence of any updates, means they're hard at work and not anything else. It is slightly irritating to see the constant need for information with updates expected on nearly day-to-day basis.

warm regards,
Pradeep

To read more on Phil Stooke's report refers to this news report.

ISRO Chairman has said that so far Chandrayaan 1 has returned about 35,000 images back to Earth (all instruments put together). The scientists (this is perhaps a reference to the PIs) will come together, discuss their findings (probably as some kind of peer review of the results?) and announce it publicly, hopefully by the end of January. Currently, data is going through some preliminary analysis.

Hi, Pradeep,

I'm the owner of the biggest website in Bulgaria and as you know Bulgaria also has an instrument aboard "Chandrayaan-1". The interest here is quite bit and I am also asked about the MIP video every day. I know it's irritating - it's the same feeling here.

But I will share the news to my people and ask them for patience. Thank you!

hi Zvezdichko,

All of the data being collected by Indian Deep Space Network makes it way through the Indian Space Science Data Network and leads up to the PIs first. From the way I understand it, ISRO has not placed any restrictions on the release of data. That decision, is totally upto the PIs. NASA releasing its M3 data is probably a case in point.

You could also equally well write to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and ask them what happened to the data they received and what is the status of the instrument on-board. We only crunch the data we get from other instruments and mostly won't touch data from other instruments. This is what I understand, from the data and results sharing that ISRO has put in place.

Pradeep, please don't be irritated by constant requests for information. It is a measure of the great public interest around the world in the Chandrayaan mission. Of course, it is also true that we have been spoiled by almost daily data releases from the Mars rovers and Cassini. But you should hear the complaints when data from Mars is missing for a few days!

Phil

I think we should hold our emotions sometimes. This may have a very negative impact to the mission, the public, etc... We are renewing our exploration of the Moon and it's natural that most people want pictures now. Nobody likes the fact that we haven't seen more than two images for a month or so, but we should remember that each space agency is unique. I know how hard it's sometimes to be patient, but there's no other way. Moaning and groaning is of no scientific value.

Oh, and we have some work to do at UMSF:

http://www.isro.org/pslv-c11/photos/moon_images.htm

ISRO released 6 imaged today of the lunar far side. Nothing is said about the location of the features.

An interesting thing happened yesterday on the main ISRO website. They reverted the changes in the evening. I think that was because they had forgotten to add a few images, which have now appeared on the link that Zvezdichko has provided.

I think they haven't named the features perhaps because these areas have not been named etc.

Also, it is suggested that updates be watched through news reports. In India, newspapers provides the widest coverage, so it makes more sense to provide updates here. Sadly, Indian journalists don't have too much experience covering space stories. Most of them are basic science reporters.

warm regards,
Pradeep

http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Chandraya...ngress_999.html

http://www.moondaily.com/reports/India_Hop...yaan_I_999.html

Two new publications today.

http://www.isro.org/pslv-c11/photos/moon_images.htm

Several more images published today

Eureka! I found three of the images. The Chandrayaan anaglyph with the most fractures on it (not channels!) is on the fractured terrace area at the south edge of Mare Orientale, the same general region as the MMM image released earlier. It can be compared with Lunar Orbiter 4 frame 195H1. North is at the left in the published anaglyph. EDIT: another of the images is contiguous and a third is further along the same orbit track. Here's a map:

Click to view attachment



Phil

Some suggestion of interesting results from Chandrayaan's radar in this discussion:

http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewtopic...&start=1320

(read post near the bottom of this page)

More details are due on 29 January.

Phil

NASA Radar Provides First Look Inside Moon’s Shadowed Craters.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Mini-RF/...first_look.html

http://www.isro.org/pslv-c11/photos/moon_images.htm

New TMC images published today.

These 3D views have too much vertical exaggeration.

They have vertical exaggeration. If it's too much or not is simply a matter of taste, and what you're trying to do.


Doug

http://www.isro.org/pressrelease/Jan23_2009.htm

Okay, a press conference was expected to be held today. What happened. Do we have any news?

Not a press conference, but a meeting which I hope may result in a press release. But no news yet.

This just in... 'The Hindu' newspaper is reporting that a statement will be issued 'this week'.

Phil Stooke

Yeah, but nothing happened. I'm frustrated. As a fellow says, "apparently, it is easier to build a spacecraft than it is to know what to do with it".

I'm starting to lose my interest and I turn my attention to LRO preparations.

You, my friend, would have had a hard time in the 80s, 70s, and 60s...

You are right. Computers and internet made the constant flow of information possible. Now we have UMSF , a great resource. This is why I find it hard to accept they are keeping this for themselves for so long.

Indian newspaper often report about regular conferences encompassing the entire Chandrayaan team(including foriegn agencies) where information from chandrayaan is discussed and analysed.So i guess the lack of information has to do with poor PR skills of ISRO.

ISRO are utterly atrocious at PR and releasing information to the public about Chandryaan 1. I could understand if they were cautious to announce important science results, but their silence has gone on for far too long.

I've lost all interest in this mission as a result.

I totally agree with you.

We have waited for more than 30 years to send a lander to the Moon (even if it's a simple impactor). Now India sent an impactor there and they're hiding the pictures.

Worth dropping them a line and asking - politely - about a release date for the pictures, pointing out the huge PR success enjoyed by the MER team..?

info@isro.gov.in

I have a feeling that Isro MAY release some data this week on the sidelines of AERO INDIA 2009 in Bangalore. Also there was a meeting of all PIs recently on the occasion of 100 days of chandrayaan-1 mission to discuss and review the data. So if we are lucky we might see some releases.

Those dying of curiosity can find another image here:

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2009/pdf/1584.pdf

Phil

Actually, tons of new data:

ftp://ftp.lpi.usra.edu/pub/outgoing/lpsc2009/full202.pdf

ftp://ftp.lpi.usra.edu/pub/outgoing/lpsc2009/full252.pdf

"Unfortunately, due to thermal constraints the spacecraft cannot point to the Earth to downlink data every orbit as initially planned, but only every third orbit. This means that only 1/3 of the data can be sent to Earth compared to what was initially forseen. These things happen in the space business… The good news is that there is more fuel left on board the spacecraft than planned - thus the mission can be extended long over the planned two years which means that the planned global coverage can still be achieved, it will only take longer."

Phil

http://cosmicdiary.org/blogs/esa/detlef_koschny/?p=37

Here is a clip on Youtube - from NDTV (New Delhi TV) reporting on the first 100 days of operation and the meeting in Bangalore - the one we hoped would lead to press releases etc. The clip includes images from the impact probe, showing how the rotating probe took images during descent.

Phil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f5qLMPIfe4

I'm in the process of taking screen shots from the NDTV video of MIP images and making mosaics of the frames. Then I can match the locations of the mosaics to a map and trace the path of the probe. ISRO - beat me to it! (please).

Phil

I was just trying the same thing - I'm not sure where to 'go' next with the next frame though.

Oh no, I'm out of a job. On yer bike, Phil!

(there may be gaps in the sequence - you might need several sub-mosaics)

Phil

Finally, images and clip from the impact probe appeared!!!

I've located part of the descent image strip from that video. It passes over 79 south, 13 west.

Phil

Detlef Koschny is the Project Scientist for the European contribution to the Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 (obligatory link to thread). He just posted this note at

http://cosmicdiary.org/blogs/esa/detlef_koschny/?p=37


"Concerning Smart-1 - this was not a science mission, but a technology demonstrator, thus no funding was initially available for preparing data to the archive. We’re working on this only now in parallel to the European Chandrayaan-1 activities. The data from the camera (called AMIE) on Smart-1 is currently being reviewed, and we’re waiting for the comments by the reviewer any week now. After that we’ll most likely need to do some updates, but then the data will be ingested into ESA’s Planetary Science Archive at http://www.rssd.esa.int/psa. The other instruments will come later.

We’ll announce it when the data is there!

Detlef."

(in response to a question from me).

So maybe the wait for SMART-1 is nearly over.

Phil

Here is a map showing the location of the descent video images. The strip runs down 13 degrees east, north of Malapert.

Phil

Click to view attachment