Quake on the moon? Vikram lander records seismic event on lunar surface, says ISRO

On August 26, the Chandrayaan-3's instruments recorded a natural event that occured on the lunar surface, according to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

The space agency said on Thursday that the event - recorded on the Instrument of Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) payload on the Vikram lander - is still under investigation.

"The Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) payload on the Chandrayaan 3 Lander is the first instance of a Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology-based instrument on the moon. It has recorded the vibrations occurring due to the movements of Rover and other payloads," ISRO said.


Posting on the platform X, formerly Twitter, the agency said, "Additionally, it has recorded an event, appearing to be a natural one, on August 26, 2023. The source of this event is under investigation."

Chandrayaan-3's instrument cluster contains some of the country's most sophisticated technology, with the ILSA being made up of a cluster of six high-sensitivity accelerometers, which are indigenously fabricated using a Silicon Micromachining process.

The instrument works to sense seismic activity, with a spring-mass system detecting external vibrations, which lead to a deflection of the spring, resulting in a change in capacitance which is converted into voltage.


ILSA's primary objective is to measure ground vibrations generated by natural quakes, impacts, and artificial events. The vibrations recorded during the rover's navigation on August 25, 2023, are depicted in the figure. Additionally, an event, seemingly natural, recorded on August 26, 2023, is also shown.

The ILSA payload was designed and realised at LEOS, Bangalore, with the support of private industries. The deployment mechanism for placing ILSA on the lunar surface was developed by URSC, Bengaluru.

India landed on the dark side of the moon on August 23, with the Chandryaan-3 succesfully touching down on the lunar plane after a 41-day journey. India became only the fourth - after the US, China, and Russia - to have successfully placed a lander on the moon.

With inputs from ANI