November 15, 2008 - India's Lunar Orbiter
Crash-Lands Probe On Moon's South Pole.
The MIP aimed to transmit ground images and kick up dust, which instruments in Chandrayaan-1 will analyze. ISRO: “A principal objective is to look for Helium 3, an isotope which is very rare on earth, but could be more plentiful on the moon and could power nuclear fusion, a valuable source of energy in the future.” India has joined Chinese and Japanese spacecraft also currently orbiting the moon in what is shaping up to be a 21st Century space race to build bases on the moon and to mine its minerals. The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was launched on October 22, 2008, from the Sriharikota Space Center in southern India.
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