Daily Archives: 2008-11-16

Chandrayaan 1 lets Lunar impactor on the loose

Posted on by
Reply

The Indian Moon probe Chandrayaan 1 has successfully entered into its operational orbit about 100km over the surface of the Moon.

On Friday the Moon Impact Probe was released for a crash landing near the Moon’s South Pole. While diving the impactor sent images and telemetry back to the orbiter, those will be relayed back to Earth at a slower pace. The descent took about 25 minutes and the data will be relayed in the next few days.

Instruments are beginning to be activated, and a new chapter in the lunar exploration is beginning.

The probe has already sent some very good images back, see link below.

Full story from

Spaceflight Now

ISRO’s Chandrayaan website

Lunar images from Chandrayaan

H.G. Wells, Orson Welles : “War of the Worlds” radio play

Posted on by
Reply

On 30th October 1938 a radio play caused mass panic in the U.S. I am, of course “talking” about the famous play “War of the Worlds” by Orson Welles based on H.G. Wells’ equally famous story.

Well, well, 70 years since that happened.

I have listened to the play a few times, and I find it fascinating story telling. OK – this is not a character piece, but the radio play is so well organised, as if a normal musical entertainment program is interrupted by news flashes, telling the story.

Some may ask, why the panic ? In order to understand that we must remember that at that time there was no mobile phones, no internet, no hundreds of tv (or radio channels) – even fixed telephones were not that common. What *was* available ? I should think one – maybe two radio programs. It was just not possible – like it is today – to go and check on the net, or CNN/BBC/whatever news channel you wanted. Information was just not there to find.

True, a radio play made in a similar way today simply could not have this effect. It is too easy to check news items for that.