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Yesterday, India inked its name in the pages of history by becoming the fourth nation to successfully land on the Moon, and the first country to reach its South Pole after successfully navigating the Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander to the lunar surface. However, reaching the Moon was only half the task; the real work begins now. Both the Pragyan rover and the Vikram lander will now begin conducting their own set of investigations and analyze the structural composition of the Moon. And the Pragyan rover is all set to do that after having taken its first steps on the lunar surface.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) just posted on X, “Chandrayaan-3 ROVER: Made in India, Made for the MOON! The Ch-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander and India took a walk on the moon! More updates soon”.
This is another major achievement as it shows that nothing was damaged during the entire journey and that the mission control is still communicating effectively with the Lander. With just 14 days of time, it is now crucial to begin the experiments to collect as much data as possible before the conclusion of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Pragyan walks on the Moon
Now, the Pragyan rover will begin investigating the geology and the atmosphere of the Moon. Its primary objective is to understand the elemental composition of the Moon, and the polar region of the Moon in particular. This understanding around the Moon’s composition will also shed light on its origin as well as the origin of the Earth since it is believed that the Moon was separated from the Earth.
Additionally, the rover will also study the dust layer on the Moon, which is known as regolith. The Vikram lander will also be investigating the near surface level, the crust, and the mantle during this period.
The Pragyan rover weighs 26 kg and comes equipped with a range of instruments for investigations and stereoscopic 3D cameras for navigation and mapping. It will be moving on the Moon at the speed of 1 cm/second. Interestingly, the rover cannot communicate directly with the Earth. As a result, the Vikram lander will act as a relay and transmit data from Pragyan to Earth so the data can be analyzed faster.
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