Science Wrap: Chandrayaan-3 launch, China’s methane rocket and human DNA in space

This week in science was marked by notable events, including the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 mission, the discovery of a thriving marine ecosystem within a deceased whale, China's historic launch of the world's first methane-propelled rocket, and an American company's ambitious plans to send human ashes and DNA into outer space.

1. Chandrayaan-3 liftoff a success, awaits August moon landing 

There was a lot of pressure riding on ISRO ever since the lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 failed to lift off in September 2019. The nation remembers how then-ISRO chief K Sivan broke down into tears after the mission’s failure. 

Now, on July 14 (Friday), ISRO finally got their chance at redemption as the Chandrayaan-3 launch went smoothly as expected. The launch took place from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 2:35 pm. With ISRO’s mission readiness review committee giving the lift-off clearance, the launch was deemed a success at 2:52 pm when the LVM3 ( Launch Vehicle Mark-III) spacecraft entered the desired orbit to begin its lunar journey. 

Over 10,000 people from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka bore witness to this watershed moment in the history of India’s space research. The scorching heat and dry weather conditions were no deterrents to this eager crowd. 

In an official statement, ISRO stated that Chandrayaan-3 has three main goals:

-to demonstrate safe and soft landing on the Moon surface
-display rover operations on the Moon
-conduct on-site experiments on the lunar surface

Much like Chandrayaan 2's lander, the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft includes a moon lander named Vikram in honour of veteran Indian scientist Vikram Sarabhai. The lander houses four instruments to record thermal conductivity and detect moonquakes around the landing site.

If everything falls into plan, Chandrayaan 3 will complete its six-week journey on August 23.

2. Marine life thrives in dead whale on Pacific Ocean floor 

To quote Jurassic Park, “life finds a way”. This is true with regards to how life emerges even within the remains of dead animals. 

For instance, a dead whale has now turned into an active marine environment at the North Pacific Ocean's bottom. Experts have now documented the size of this expanding population beneath the seas of the North Pacific.

The carcass of the whale has produced a miniature ecosystem at the ocean's bottom, known as the benthic zone. The whale fall carcass provides new insights into how these remains help ecosystems to thrive.

The team, which is part of Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), is investigating how whale falls serve as a food source oasis on an otherwise food-deprived deep-sea floor, and how they have nourished a diverse assemblage of marine creatures for decades. The whale fall was first observed in 2012, when the crews returned to the site to update the observatory's seafloor instruments.

The life forms being supported in the body include the rich benthic fauna (organisms that live near the seafloor), many invertebrates and a few fish species, such as Cocculina craigsmithi (gastropod), Mitrella (Astyris) permodesta (bucinoid gastropod), Ilyarachna profunda (isopod), Paralomis multispina (crab), Coryphaenoides acrolepis (rattail fish), and Lamellibrachia cf. barhami (tube worms).

3. Star Trek-inspired mission to send ashes, DNA of 196 people into space forever

A couple from Arizona, will be sending their DNA into space in the upcoming Enterprise (yes, deliberately named after the Star Trek ship) mission being launched by Celestis. What exactly is Celestis? The company is based in Houston, Texas and specialises in “space burials” (yes, that’s very much a thing). 

Gary and Elizabeth Paulus are just 2 of the 196 people who have agreed to send their ashes and DNA  into outer space. The Enterprise will be carrying 196 capsules of their DNA, even including the remains of Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry. Even Presidents George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower and John F Kennedy have found a spot!

This will be a major highlight for Celestis as the company is preparing for their first deep space flight, orbiting around the sun indefinitely.

4. China becomes first country to launch 1st methane-powered rocket to space. Yes, methane!

A Chinese private enterprise launched the world's first methane-liquid oxygen rocket.

This accomplishment positions China ahead of competitors such as the United States, India, and Europe in the development of a next-generation launch vehicle capable of carrying payloads into orbit around Earth. The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China launched the Zhuque-2 carrier rocket.

The rocket successfully launched a test payload into sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), making it the world's first to do so.

Methalox is a methane-powered rocket that uses methane as fuel and liquid oxygen (LOX) as an oxidizer. It functions on the same principles as traditional launch vehicles, but with certain differences in propellant selection and design considerations.