The Indian Space Research Organisation on Friday revealed that the Vikram lander displaced almost 2.06 tonnes of "lunar epiregolith" (rocks and soil) as it touched the surface of the Moon. According to the space agency, the lander also blasted off over an area of 108.4 m² (metre square) around the landing site.
What ISRO stated?
As it descended, the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module generated a spectacular 'ejecta halo' of lunar material, the ISRO stated. "We compared the pre- and post-landing high-resolution panchromatic imagery from Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC) of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, acquired hours before and after the landing event and characterised this ‘ejecta halo’, which appears as an irregular bright patch surrounding the lander," the space agency added.
Chandrayaan-3 mission
The Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan-3 mission landed near the south pole of the Moon on August 23, 2023. Last month, ISRO said it has made efforts to establish communication with its lunar mission Chandrayaan-3's lander Vikram and rover Pragyan to ascertain their 'wake-up condition' after they had been put into sleep mode early this month -- but no signals have been received from them as of now.
ISRO attempts to wake up lander & rover
With dawn breaking on the Moon, ISRO attempted to reestablish communication with the lander and rover, to revive them so that they can continue with scientific experiments. Both the lander and the rover were put into sleep mode earlier this month on September 4 and 2 respectively, ahead of the lunar night setting in on Earth's only natural satellite. However, their receivers were kept on.
Lander and Rover performed experiments
After landing on the Moon on August 23, both the lander and the rover, and the payloads onboard had performed experiments one after the other so as to complete them within 14 Earth days (one lunar day), before pitch darkness and extreme cold weather engulfed the Moon.
The lander and rover -- with a total mass of 1,752 kg -- were designed to operate for one lunar daylight period (about 14 Earth days) to study the surroundings there. However, ISRO is hoping they can be revived, now that the Sun has risen again on the Moon, and that they carry on with the experiments and studies there.
(With PTI inputs)
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