Pragyaan Rover rolls out of Lander Vikram: First images from Moon’s south pole

Image credit: ISRO

India’s journey to the Moon culminated in a historic achievement as the Chandrayaan-3 mission landed on the lunar surface on August 23.

Another milestone soon after the landing was marked as the lander, Vikram, gently settled near the Moon’s south pole and opened its hatches to roll out the rover. This feat has set a record to make India the first country to reach this polar region.

This landing makes India only the fourth country apart from the US, Russia, and China, to land missions on the lunar surface.

India is on the Moon

S Somanath, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said, “We have achieved a soft landing on the moon. India is on the Moon.”

This historic achievement surpasses Russia’s recent attempt with its spacecraft Luna-25, which crashed due to an engine malfunction just days before its intended landing on August 21.

Historic day for India’s space sector. Congratulations to @isro for the remarkable success of Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission. https://t.co/F1UrgJklfp

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2023

The lunar south pole

The landing site is near the Moon’s south pole, at an approximate latitude of 70 degrees. The landing site lies on a plateau south of the Manzinus crater and to the west of the Boguslawsky crater, reported the New York Times.

Unlike previous missions conducted by NASA and Russia’s Roscosmos that targeted the lunar equator for ease of access and visibility, ISRO’s landing is targeted at exploring the Moon’s polar regions.

Operating under frigid temperatures as low as negative 230 degrees Celsius, the mission will now grapple with unknown conditions and strange lunar topography.

Mission goals

Vikram, the Lander, has successfully settled on the lunar surface and has transmitted images from its new environment. The next phase of the mission unfolds as the Rover Pragyaan, released from the lander, ventures onto the Moon’s surface.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The image captured by the
Landing Imager Camera
after the landing.

It shows a portion of Chandrayaan-3’s landing site. Seen also is a leg and its accompanying shadow.

Chandrayaan-3 chose a relatively flat region on the lunar surface ?… pic.twitter.com/xi7RVz5UvW

— ISRO (@isro) August 23, 2023

The mission objectives encompass three crucial aspects: demonstrating safe and soft landings, showcasing rover mobility, and conducting on-site scientific experiments.

Scientific experiments

Chandrayaan-3’s scientific mission is underscored by its payload, which includes four scientific instruments aboard the lander.

These instruments are meant to to study lunar quakes, thermal properties of the lunar surface, plasma variations near the surface, and facilitate a passive experiment to measure Earth-Moon distance, said ISRO.

NASA too has a payload aboard the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft.

Commending India’s achievement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson welcomed India to the club of elite nations to have successfully landed on the Moon. Nelson expressed NASA’s happiness at being India’s “partner” at this milestone.

Congratulations @isro on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing! And congratulations to #India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We’re glad to be your partner on this mission! https://t.co/UJArS7gsTv

— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) August 23, 2023

Moon day mission

With its solar-powered panels, the lander is poised to harness solar energy during the Moon’s daybreak over the south pole. Operating within the confines of a Moon day that stretches for 14 Earth days, the rover is poised to conduct its experiments during this time frame.

India’s Ministry of Science highlighted that after the 14 Earth days, followed by a Moon night of extreme cold, solar power generation is set to resume as the Moon’s day breaks once again, offering an extended period of exploration and scientific discovery.