China s top scientist, Ouyang Ziyuan, has disputed India s claim of landing its Chandrayaan-3 rover near the lunar south pole, stating that the landing site was nowhere close to the pole. Ouyang said the Chandrayaan-3 was 619 kilometers away from the polar region. China s space program, according to Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based senior space expert, has better technology and has been capable of sending orbiters and landers directly into Earth-Moon transfer orbit since 2010.
Scientists have identified 12 previously-undiscovered moons orbiting Jupiter, putting the gas giant nine moons ahead of neighboring Saturn, according to newly-published analysis from the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center.