TechCrunch Newsletters - Max Q - India's success on the moon

By Aria Alamalhodaei

Monday, August 28, 2023

Hello and welcome back to Max Q!

In this issue:

India’s major success on the moon
News from SpaceX and more

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India’s Chandrayaan-3 makes successful landing on the moon

Chandrayaan-3, the latest iteration of India’s ambitious mission to the moon, has successfully landed on the lunar surface — making history after its predecessor failed in 2019.

The landing, which took place at the targeted time of 5:34 am PT (6:04 pm IST) on Wednesday over a month after the spacecraft’s launch, has made India the fourth nation globally to make a soft landing on the moon, after the former Soviet Union, the U.S. and China, and the first country to land on the lunar south pole, which remains an unexplored area that is anticipated to aid in the understanding of the moon’s atmosphere and pave the way for future space exploration programs.

Congrats ISRO!

More news from TC and beyond

Hypergiant, an AI company that works in defense, space and critical infrastructure, was bought by PE firm Trive Capital.
Orbital Composites landed three new SBIR contracts to advance the startup’s in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing development work.
Rocket Lab reused a Rutherford rocket engine for the first time, and plans to reuse all nine engines on the booster in the future, a landmark step in the company’s quest to make the Electron rocket reusable.
Sidus Space is taking another step toward full vertical integration with the acquisition of California-based Exo-Space, a startup that offers edge computing on orbit.
SpaceX conducted a static fire test of the Super Heavy booster, with all but two of the 33 Raptor engines firing for the full duration of the test.
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing SpaceX, alleging in the suit that the company discouraged asylum seekers and refugees from applying for jobs and passed over these applicants.