Science News Roundup: Europe to decide within weeks on when to restart space launches; Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy reschedules moon rocket launch for Thursday and more

The Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was "set into Sleep mode" but with batteries charged and receiver on, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, late on Saturday. After the moon, India launches rocket to study the sun Following quickly on the success of India's moon landing, the country's space agency launched a rocket on Saturday to study the sun in its first such solar mission.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Europe to decide within weeks on when to restart space launches

European space officials said on Monday they face crucial timing decisions in the coming weeks on the return to flight of Europe's flagship space launchers following a series of delays. The inaugural launch of Europe's new Ariane 6 launcher has been delayed until next year, while the failure of a test on the smaller Vega C has hampered chances of a return to service in 2023 for that rocket after it was grounded in December 2022.

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy reschedules moon rocket launch for Thursday

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said on Monday it planned to launch its H-IIA rocket carrying a moon lander on Thursday morning, after unfavourable wind conditions led to a postponement last month. The rocket is scheduled to take off from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Japan at 8:42 a.m. JST (Wednesday 2342 GMT), with a launch window open until Sept. 15, the company said.

Mission accomplished, India puts moon rover to 'sleep'

India switched off its moon rover, the first craft to reach the lunar south pole, after it completed its two-week assignment conducting experiments, the country's space agency said. The Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was "set into Sleep mode" but with batteries charged and receiver on, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, late on Saturday.

After the moon, India launches rocket to study the sun

Following quickly on the success of India's moon landing, the country's space agency launched a rocket on Saturday to study the sun in its first such solar mission. The rocket left a trail of smoke and fire as scientists clapped, a live broadcast on the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) website showed.