Chandrayaan-3's Lunar Mystery: Why no clear imprint of Indian flag, ISRO logo on Moon's surface

The Chandrayaan-3 mission has brought a lunar riddle to light – the rover Pragyan's wheels, imprinted with the Indian national emblem and the ISRO logo, aren't leaving clear marks on the Moon's surface. Surprisingly, this is good news for scientists, as it offers fresh insights into the unique properties of the lunar soil in the south pole region.

Understanding the Moon's soil is vital because the south pole can turn out to be an important location for future missions, thanks to its potential for revealing water and supporting human presence on the Moon.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath explained the phenomenon in a TOI report saying, "The lunar soil is not acting dusty, but is lumpy. This means something is binding the soil, we need to study what is binding the soil."

What do the ISRO findings mean? 

Before the mission, when ISRO tested the rover's wheels on Moon-like soil created by ISRO in a lab (called lunar soil simulant or LSS), the marks it made were very clear, just like footprints in the sand. But when the rover tried to make marks on the real Moon's surface, it didn't work the same way. The marks it left were not clear; they were kind of messy. This tells us that the Moon's soil is different from what ISRO and a previous US mission thought. It has some unique things in it that ISRO will need to study more.

What's next for Chandrayaan-3?

The Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover were put to sleep after they completed the assigned tasks of the mission. However, ISRO scientists have been trying to wake up the rover and lander in order to expand the mission further. Chairman Somanath expressed cautious optimism. He claimed that while there have been no signals so far, the lunar day provides hope. With continuous sunlight for 14 Earth days, there's a chance the systems may warm up and awaken.

One of the primary advantages of their revival would be the ability to repeat experiments in different locations on the Moon. This diversity in data collection is essential for gaining a comprehensive understanding of the lunar terrain and its ever-changing characteristics. Instruments on Pragyan have already conducted experiments from various locations, but more opportunities for exploration could yield invaluable insights into the Moon's secrets.

Also read: Chandrayaan-3: ‘It’s time to wake up,' say netizens as ISRO finds no signals yet from Vikram, Pragyan

Important Milestones in Chandrayaan-3 mission so far:

• Launch: The Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14, 2023 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
• Lunar Orbit Entry: The mission entered the lunar orbit on August 5, 2023.
• Lander Module Separation: The lander module separated from the propulsion module on August 17, 2023.
• First Deboosting: The first deboosting occurred on August 18, 2023.
• Second Deboosting: The second deboosting occurred on August 20, 2023.
• Landing: The lander touched down near the Lunar south pole on August 23, 2023 at 18:03 IST.

Also read: 'Prolonged spell of cold weather conditions': Union minister on ISRO not getting signals from Chandrayaan-3's lander and rover