Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
India marks the first anniversary of the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s successful landing on the Moon, commemorating the event as National Space Day.
The Pragyan rover, deployed shortly after the Vikram lander’s touchdown, began its exploration of the lunar surface at Shiva Shakti Point within an hour of landing.
The rover employed two key instruments for analyzing lunar minerals: the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS).
The APXS used alpha particle radiation to interact with lunar soil, measuring scattered particles to identify specific minerals based on their spectral signatures.
The LIBS instrument directed a laser beam at the lunar surface, causing material to emit fumes. These fumes were analyzed by spectrometers to determine the elemental composition of the Moon’s surface.
ISRO Chief S. Somanath highlighted the importance of the rover’s movement, noting that Pragyan traveled approximately 100 meters to sample a broader area of the lunar surface, providing more comprehensive data.
The data collected revealed insights into the Moon’s geological composition and confirmed that its surface was once covered by magma. This information is expected to advance lunar exploration and resource utilization.