India’s Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter carried out a manoeuvre in September to stop a detailed encounter with the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), formally often known as Danuri, based on the Indian House Analysis Organisation (ISRO). The adjustment carried out on September 19, 2024, was essential to keep away from a possible collision between the 2 orbiters, which was projected for 2 weeks later if no modifications have been made to Chandrayaan-2’s trajectory.
Following this, on October 1, 2024, one other orbital modification was applied to keep up separation from different lunar orbiters, together with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), as per an ISRO report.
Frequent Collision Dangers Amongst Lunar Orbiters
Across the lunar poles, orbiters corresponding to Chandrayaan-2, Danuri, and LRO share an identical near-polar path, growing the chance of shut approaches. Over the previous 18 months, the Korea Aerospace Analysis Institute (KARI), which operates Danuri, reported having obtained over 40 collision alerts for interactions amongst Danuri, Chandrayaan-2, and LRO. These alerts, known as “crimson alarms,” underscore the rising threat of unintentional collisions as a number of worldwide companies function missions in shut proximity across the Moon.
Beforehand, in 2021, Chandrayaan-2 reportedly averted an identical state of affairs by shifting its path, stopping a detailed cross by LRO that might have introduced the 2 inside simply three kilometres. Danuri itself has carried out no less than three orbital changes because it entered lunar orbit in December 2022, together with avoiding each LRO and Japan’s Good Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM).
Lack of Unified Collision Protocols in Lunar Operations
At current, no globally coordinated protocol exists for managing collision dangers across the Moon. House companies like ISRO, KARI, and NASA depend on direct communication, sharing spacecraft place information via e-mail and teleconferences. Nonetheless, based on Soyoung Chung, a senior researcher with KARI’s technique and planning staff, difficulties corresponding to community safety limitations and a scarcity of personnel contact info have, at instances, difficult communication.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory offers the Multimission Automated Deep-House Conjunction Evaluation Course of (MADCAP) software program, which estimates and warns of collision dangers. Nonetheless, consultants like Chung have steered the necessity for a proper worldwide framework for managing shut approaches across the Moon.