This Day in
History
10/22
by Akhil Vennelakanti and Mihir Kappor
On this day in 2008, Chandrayaan (Hindi for moon craft) launched to conduct a high resolution of the moon’s chemical and mineralogical characteristics. Chandrayaan was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on the 22nd of October at 12:52 AM Universal Central Time (UTC), making this the first Indian space mission. The vehicle reached the moon’s orbit on November 8, 2008.
On November 14, 2008, the Moon Impact Probe was separated from Chandrayaan at 2:36 PM UTC. The 590-kg (1,300 lb) Chandrayaan launched on October 22, 2008, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Then it was put into an elliptical orbit around the Moon, and hit the south pole in a controlled manner. The probe landed near Shackleton at 3:01 PM UTC. With this mission, ISRO (the Indian Space Research Organization) became the fifth national space agency to land on the lunar surface. On that same day, Chandrayaan launched a small craft that was made to test future moon landings, as well as study the Moon’s atmosphere. The smaller craft discovered water on the Moon shortly before it crashed. NASA created two spacecraft which tried to find ice on the lunar surface. One of them, M3, studied the infrared waves on the Moon. It found traces of water on the Moon’s surface. M3 also found evidence that ice existed on the moon. The other, Mini-SAR, broadcasted radio waves towards the lunar poles. The changes of the waves proved that there is, in fact, ice on the Moon. The European Space Agency (ESA) provided an infrared sensor and a solar wind detector. The Bulgarian Aerospace Agency helped with the mission by providing a radiation monitor. The ISRO used various instruments to create images of the Moon with very high resolution, as well as a topographic map of the lunar surface. The Chandrayaan Imaging X-ray Spectrometer, created by both ISRO and ESA, was designed to detect various metals via emitted X-rays due to solar flares.
The mission was intended to last two years, but due to loss of radio communication with the craft, it ended August 28, 2009.
Sources: Britannica, Wikipedia, NASA
Hawaii's Constitution of 1840
by Akhil Vennelakanti
On this day in 1840, the Kingdom of Hawai’i, now the U.S. state Hawaii, created the Constitution of 1840. Written by King Kamehameha Kekauluohi III and his advisors, it gave all citizens equal rights, as denoted by the first paragraph: "’God hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth,’ in unity and blessedness. God has also bestowed certain rights alike on all men and all chiefs, and all people of all lands.” The document also discusses the government of the area, as well as its judicial system, its “House of Nobles” (governors of each island), tax officers and much more.
The document also considers Jehovah (God) and that “no law shall be enacted which is at variance with the word of the Lord Jehovah, or at variance with the general spirit of His word.” However, it also states that “all men of every religion shall be protected in worshipping Jehovah, and serving Him, according to their own understanding.” Another thing that it states is that the government will not punish people who do not worship Jehovah, as long as they do not harm the people or the kingdom.
It also states that no citizen will be punished until they are sent to court, or if there is no proof of the crime. However, the citizen may be punished if they commit any crime against the constitution. Also, it dictates that no law can be passed that can allow any citizen the right to injure another person.
Finally, the last paragraph of the constitution concerned changes to the constitution. Similar to the modern U.S. constitution’s amendments, new laws can be suggested by the people, but must be approved by the legislature (the House of Nobles).
It was signed by the king at Honolulu, the capital of the kingdom—and now the United States.
Sources: History.com, Department of Accounting and General Services (Hawaii), Wikipedia.com