On August 23, India achieved a historic feat in space exploration with the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander and release of Pragyan rover on Lunar South Pole, four hours after the landing
ISRO subsequently released two captivating videos: one captured from the lander's perspective, revealing the landing sequence, and the other from the rover's vantage point, showcasing its release
ISRO has shared a video, as recorded by a camera positioned on the Vikram lander, to show the descent phase. The footage shows the descent phase as the lander approaches the Moon's South Pole and ultimately achieves a successful landing
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ISRO also announced the initiation of rover mobility operations on Thursday. Subsequently, in another tweet, the agency shared this video depicting the accomplished deployment of the Pragyan rover onto the lunar surface
On August 24, Indian Space Research Organisation also gave updates on deployment of several payloads built for the Chandrayaan-3 mission. The agency confirmed that the lander module payloads ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE are turned on. Solar panels on the Vikram rover are also now turned on
Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), a joint effort between the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) and the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, aims to assess the thermal characteristics of the lunar regolith. Another project, titled Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere, is also underway
The Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) is deployed to gauge seismic movement in the vicinity of the landing area. Additionally, the RAMBHA Langmuir Probe (LP) is utilised to assess plasma density and its fluctuations. The equipment includes a passive Laser Retroreflector Array, courtesy of NASA, which facilitates lunar laser ranging investigations
The central objective of the Pragyan rover is to conduct on-site scientific investigations on the lunar terrain. Through these experiments, it endeavours to unravel the enigmas of the Moon's geology, offering precious revelations about its composition and historical evolution
Within the rover are housed two payloads. The first one, APXS (alpha particle X-ray spectrometer) is tasked with examining the chemical and mineralogical constitution of the lunar surface. Insights gleaned from APXS data could shed light on the presence of water in the region, frozen inside the deep craters of Lunar South Pole
The rover's second payload is the LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscope), responsible for analysing the elemental composition (Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe) of lunar soil and rocks encompassing the lunar landing vicinity