In the latest update to the Chandrayaan-3 Mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stated that all activities are on schedule and all systems are normal. The space agency further said that Lander Module payloads ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE are turned on today (August 24).
"Rover mobility operations have commenced. SHAPE payload on the Propulsion Module was turned ON on Sunday," the ISRO wrote on 'X' (formerly known as Twitter).
Meanwhile, the ISRO is hopeful that the lander and rover's mission life will not be constrained to just one lunar day or 14 earth days. The scientists at the space agency believe that Chandrayaan-3's lander and rover will come back to life when the sun rises again on the Moon, to carry on with the experiments and studies there.
What would rover do on Moon's surface?
The rover will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility. It would study the surface of the Moon through its payload APXS (Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer) to determine the elemental composition of lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site.
Another payload on the rover, the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS), will derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition to further enhance understanding of the lunar surface. According to ISRO officials, the Moon's south pole region is also being explored because there is a possibility of water being present in permanently shadowed areas around it, according to ISRO officials. The rover will send the data to the lander which will then send it to Earth.
India's lunar mission
It should be mentioned here that India’s Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6:04 pm on Wednesday, August 23. In a big boost to India's space prowess, the Lander Module comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), made the soft landing near the south polar region of the Moon, less than a week after a similar Russian lander crashed. The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole.
(With PTI inputs)
