The Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 has begun its two-year-long science mission. On Nov 15, it sent a 30-kilogram impact-probe crashing to the surface of the Moon. The probe, painted on two sides with the Indian flag, reached the Moon's surface at 20:34 Indian Standard Time (15:04 GMT).

An ISRO representative told the AFP news agency, "During its descent from Chandrayaan-1, an onboard video camera transmitted lunar pictures to the ISRO command centre." The probe also sent back data about the Moon's tenuous atmosphere.

Chandrayaan-1, which roughly translates as "Moon Craft-1," launched on Oct 22 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. The one-and-a-half-tonne satellite successfully entered lunar orbit on Nov 8 and is now in polar orbit at a height of 100 kilometres (62 miles).

This is India's first space mission beyond Earth orbit. It joins Japanese and Chinese spacecraft orbiting the Moon. The event generated considerable national pride among Indian's who see the launch as an indication that their country is one of the space faring nations of the 21st century and that India has arrived as a technologically advanced global power.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed the launch as a milestone in the India's space program. Saying, "Our scientific community has once again done the country proud and the entire nation salutes them."

The Chandrayaan-1 mission is to provide detailed maps of the Moon's surface and composition. Present maps date from the Apollo era. As well as the Moon Impact Probe, it has ten other instruments onboard. The first four listed below are Indian, then two from NASA, three from the European Space Agency (ESA) and one built by Bulgaria. The Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Bangalore, will turn on theses instruments over the next few weeks.

The TMC will produce stereo images of the surface of the moon, creating maps with an elevation resolution of five meters. It will cover the entire lunar surface over the next two years.

The HySI takes images at 64 different wavelengths of light between blue and the near infrared. It has a resolution of 80 meters and will help identify the mineral composition of the surface of the Moon.

This instrument is an infrared laser that pulses 10 times per second. By measuring the time it takes for the laser light to be reflected from the surface, the height of surface features can be calculated to within 5 meters.

HEX detects high-energy x-rays from radioactive elements on the lunar surface and from cosmic rays hitting the moon. This will shed light on the composition of the lunar surface and may help locate thick deposits of ice.

This instrument provided by NASA will map the both the Moon’s surface and a few meters subsurface using radio waves. It will look for ice deposits.

The second instrument provided by NASA is an infrared mapping spectrometer. This can provide a resolution of 70 meters at hundreds of wavelengths of infrared light.

The C1XS is one of three instruments provided by the European Space Agency. It detects x-ray fluorescence, lower energy x-rays that are emitted when materials are bombarded by high energy x-rays. It will examine the composition of the lunar surface.

SIR-2 looks at sunlight reflected from the lunar surface in the near infrared range. This is a good range for identifying surface minerals.

SARA will examine the surface of the Moon by analyzing particles blasted from the surface by the solar wind.

Made by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, RADOM will measure the magnitude and energy range of radiation near the Moon. This is essential information for any future lunar colony.

Chandrayaan-1 is part of unprecedented international interest in the Moon. NASA aims eventually to establish a permanent lunar colony and plans to launch and sustain human exploration of the Moon by 2018. Other nations are unlikely to leave exploration and exploitation of the Moon solely to the USA.

Image credits ISRO

Meet Mr Green Genes, under normal light - ginger tabby cat. Switch off the light and turn on the infrared and Mr Green Genes glows green.

The six-month old cat has been genetically engineered by scientists at the Audubon Centre for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans. They have taken a section of jelly fish DNA and inserted it into the cat’s genetic material or genome. Having DNA from another species in his genome makes Mr Green Genes a transgenic cat.

The DNA sequence or gene, which encodes the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was first isolated from a jellyfish (Aequorea victoria) in 1962 by Osamu Shimomura. Shimomura shared this year’s Nobel Prize for chemistry with Martin Chalfie, Roger Tsien and for work relating to GFP.

The reason a cat was used in this experiment was that feline genome is similar to the human one. The green glow in itself is not important, but when the GFP gene is linked with other genes, researchers can tell if the linked gene has been integrated into the target genome by looking for the green glow. Hopefully, Mr Green Genes is a step on the path to developing cures for diseases caused by genetic defects such as cystic fibrosis.

Richard Garriott, the 47-year-old creator of the Ultima series of computer games, has become the world's sixth space tourist. His 11-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) cost US$30 million.

Garriott and ISS Expedition 18 members Mike Fincke and Yuri Lonchakov launched to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 12, arriving at the ISS two days later.

Born in Cambridge, England, Garriott now lives in Austin, Texas. He acquired the moniker 'Lord British' when he started school in the US, due to his British accent. His father Owen flew aboard Skylab and the Space Shuttle.

Whilst aboard the ISS, Garriott carried out crystal growing experiments, communicated with students and ham (amateur) radio enthusiasts; staged an art show; took photos of the Earth to be compared to ones taken by his father 35 years earlier and tested products for sponsors.

Garriott, who believes that everyone should have the opportunity to go into space, said he found the most rewarding part of his stay was speaking with students. He said, "I took this opportunity to inspire them with my adventure and let them know they can achieve their wildest dreams as well with hard work and perseverance."

Garriott also installed a device called SpaceCam1. This slow-scan television system broadcasts on amateur radio frequencies. Anyone with a suitable radio receiver and freely available software can receive and decode pictures from the ISS as it passes overhead. Enthusiast received over 1500 pictures in its first week of operation. For more details on how to receive these pictures, see this article on MSNBC.

Garriott and returning Expedition 17 members Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko landed safely in Kazakhstan on Oct 23. After the flight, Garriott said his mission to the ISS had fulfilled, "a lifelong dream to experience spaceflight."

How much would you pay to go into space?