Chandrayaan-1: Mapping the Moon
From Earth, the Moon can look like a smooth, glowing disk. Up close, its surface tells a much more complicated story. Craters, mountains, and broad plains hold clues about the Moon’s history. In 2008, India sent a spacecraft called Chandrayaan-1 to study those clues from above.
Chandrayaan-1 was India’s first Moon mission, developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation, or ISRO. It launched on October 22, 2008, from Sriharikota, India. A rocket called PSLV-C11 carried the spacecraft away from Earth. Launching was only the beginning of the journey: Chandrayaan-1 had to travel toward the Moon and enter an orbit, or a path around it, before beginning much of its scientific work.
A spacecraft with many tools
The spacecraft carried 11 scientific instruments from India and international partners. Each instrument gathered a different kind of information. Together, their observations could help scientists make maps of the Moon’s surface and investigate what it is made of.
Some instruments studied minerals, the natural materials that make up rocks. Different minerals interact with light in different ways. By measuring light reflected from the lunar surface, an instrument could collect clues about which minerals might be present. Other instruments helped scientists investigate chemical elements, the basic substances found in materials on the Moon.
- surface:
- The outside layer of an object or place.
- instruments:
- Tools used to measure or collect information.
- observations:
- Information gathered by watching or measuring.
- reflected:
- Bounced back from a surface.
- descent:
- A movement or journey downward.
- molecules:
- Tiny groups of atoms joined together.
- evidence:
- Information that helps show whether an idea is true.
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What is the main idea of the article, and which two mission activities support it?
- 2Why did Chandrayaan-1 need to enter lunar orbit before doing much of its scientific work?
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About this explanatory article passage for Upper Elementary
“Chandrayaan-1: Mapping the Moon” is a explanatory article reading passage about Lunar exploration, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 3 minutes to read (479 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.