Sky Matters: What we learned about the Moon from India and Russia's space race

"Both missions carried a multitude of scientific instruments, but the standout objective was to seek further evidence for, and information on, the existence of water ice."

A supermoon passes behind the illuminated windows of a New York City skyscraper, Aug. 1, 2023. Pic: AP Photo/J. David Ake

In August we witnessed some of the highs and lows of lunar exploration. 

Through an unplanned coincidence of timing, India and Russia were scheduled to land two spacecraft on the Moon within a couple of days of each other.