Topics Covered:
- Awareness in space.
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
What to study?
For Prelims and Mains: About LRO- mission objectives, components and significance, Significance of Lunar water and benefits.
Context: ISRO is attempting to figure out what happened to Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram with the help of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
About Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO):
It is a NASA mission to the moon within the Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program (LPRP) in preparation for future manned missions to the moon and beyond (Mars).
LRO is the first mission of NASA’s `New Vision for Space Exploration’.
The objectives of LRO are to:
- Identify potential lunar resources.
- Gather detailed maps of the lunar surface.
- Collect data on the moon’s radiation levels.
- Study the moons polar regions for resources that could be used in future manned missions or robotic sample return missions.
- Provide measurements to characterize future robotic explorers, human lunar landing sites and to derive measurements that can be used directly in support of future Lunar Human Exploration Systems.
Sources: The Hindu.
