Chandrayaan 3: Post touchdown, Rover to embark on 14-day activities on lunar surface

According to ISRO, Lander and the Rover have five scientific payloads which have been placed inside the Lander Module (LM). Rover's Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will be used to derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical co...

By PTI | Updated: Aug 24, 2023, 10.39 AM IST

Chandrayaan 3's soft-landing achieved, the rover module will now embark on its 14-day assignment to carry out the tasks mandated by the ISRO scientists. Its duties include experiments to further understand the lunar surface.

With 'Vikram' Lander having done its job by ensuring a safe touchdown, the most challenging part of the mission, rover 'Pragyan' which is in the belly of LM is slated to come out to carry out series of experiments on the surface of the Moon later.

According to ISRO, Lander and the Rover have five scientific payloads which have been placed inside the Lander Module (LM).

Rover's Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will be used to derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition to further enhance the understanding of the lunar surface.

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) will determine the elemental composition of the lunar soil and rocks around the Moon's landing site.

The deployment of Rover to carry out in-situ scientific experiments would scale new heights in lunar expeditions, ISRO said.

Those who gave us a new tomorrow: ISRO's team Chandrayaan-3

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ISRO chief Dr. S. Somanath did his B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from TKM College of Engineering, Kollam and Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with specialisation in Structures, Dynamics and Control. He joined GSLV MkIII Project during 2003 and was the Deputy Project Director responsible for overall design and integration of India’s heaviest and most powerful rocket. He was the Project Director of GSLV Mk-III (now LVM-3) from June 2010 to 2014. Prior to becoming ISRO Chairman, Somanath headed VSSC as its Director.

The Mission life of both Lander and Rover is 1 Lunar Day each, which is equal to 14 Earth days.

The Lander Payloads are RAMBHA-LP (Langmuir Probe), to measure the near surface plasma (ions and electrons) density and its changes with time

ChaSTE Chandra's Surface Thermo Physical Experiment will carry out the measurements of thermal properties of lunar surface near polar region.

The Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) will measure the seismicity around the landing site and delineating the structure of the lunar crust and mantle.

In Video: From Launch to Landing: Chandrayaan-3 mission explained

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