- Written by Geeta Pandey
- BBC News, Delhi
Photo of Vikram lander taken by Pragyan rover
Last month, India made history by becoming the first country to land a lunar probe near the moon’s south pole.
Chandrayaan-3’s lander and rovers (called Vikram and Pragyan) spent about 10 days in the region, collecting data and images that will be sent back to Earth for analysis.
Earlier this month, scientists laid down the lander as the sun began to set behind the moon. For the lander to function, it needs sunlight to charge its batteries. The country’s space research agency Isro said it hoped they would wake up again “around September 22,” when the next lunar day dawns.
Isro provided regular updates on their movements and discoveries, and shared images they captured.
While these updates have excited many Indians, some are asking about the significance of these discoveries.
The BBC spoke to Mira Mitra, former NASA scientist and co-founder of Delhi-based space education company Stem and Space, to highlight some of Chandrayaan 3’s key discoveries and discuss its significance. I asked them to explain their gender.
Mileage – Crater Avoidance
Hours before the rover went to sleep on September 2, Isro said Pragyan had “traversed more than 100 meters.” [328 feet] And it continues.”
This is quite a long distance for a six-wheeled rover traveling at a speed of 1 cm per second.
Also important, Mitra said, was the ability to avoid falling into the craters that dot the moon’s little-explored Antarctic region.
She said the rover has a special wheel mechanism called a rocker bogie that keeps all the wheels together and helps it move up and down, but it doesn’t allow it to crawl out if it falls into deep water. Possibly a crater. Therefore, it is important to go around the crater and follow its footprints. And that’s being done by scientists at the command center who are “observing the moon through the eyes of the rover,” Mitra added.
“The rover is not automated and its movements are controlled by a command center that operates based on the photos it sends.
“Due to their circuitous route, there will be a slight delay in reaching the command center. Pragyan will send them to the lander, which will send them to the orbiter to take them to Earth. ”
Isro releases graphic of trajectory taken by lunar probe
So by the time the command reaches the spacecraft, it will be several steps closer to the threat.
But the fact that it was able to navigate safely around the two craters shows it can communicate with a command center very quickly, Mitra added.
It’s hot and cold
The first data set, collected by a rover aboard the Vikram lander to a depth of 10 centimeters (4 inches) from the moon’s topsoil and surface, shows sharp differences in temperature just above and below the surface. This has been shown.
Temperatures at the surface were about 60 degrees Celsius, but below the surface, temperatures dropped rapidly to -10 degrees Celsius 80 mm (about 3 inches) underground.
The moon is known for its extreme temperatures. According to NASA, daytime temperatures near the moon’s equator reach a boiling 120 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Celsius), while nighttime temperatures can drop to -130 degrees Celsius (-208 degrees Celsius). Temperatures of -250C (-410F) have also been recorded in the crater, which receives no sunlight and remains permanently in shadow.
But Mitra says this wide temperature range is important because it shows that the lunar soil, called lunar regolith, is an excellent insulator.
“This could mean it could be used to build space colonies to block out heat, cold and radiation, making it a natural insulator for habitats,” she says.
This could also be an indicator of the presence of water ice below the surface.
Clues to the evolution of the moon
A laser detector onboard the rover measured chemicals on the moon’s surface near the south pole and detected a number of chemicals, including aluminum, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon, and oxygen. Ta.
But scientists say the most important discovery concerns sulfur. Isro said the instrument’s “first-ever in-situ measurements in the original space” had “unequivocally confirmed” the presence of sulfur.
Although the presence of sulfur on the moon has been known since the 1970s, scientists say the fact that the rover measured sulfur on the lunar surface itself, rather than as part of a mineral or crystal, is a “tremendous accomplishment.” ”.
Mitra says the presence of sulfur in soil is important in many ways.
“Sulfur is usually obtained from volcanoes, so this will increase our knowledge of how the moon formed, how it evolved, and its geography.
“This also indicates the presence of water ice on the moon’s surface. This is good news because sulfur is an excellent fertilizer, so it could help plants grow if they had habitat on the moon.” is.”
Was it really a moonquake?
The Vikram lander is equipped with instruments to measure vibrations emitted by the spacecraft and its activities, as well as from its own research and experiments.
Isro said the Lunar Seismic Activity Instrument (Irsa) is listening to the ground while recording “what appears to be natural phenomena” and investigating their sources.
Isro said the lander recorded an event that “looks like a natural phenomenon”
Mitra added that the amplitude of this event was much higher, meaning it was much more powerful, and that there are several possible explanations for this.
“It’s possible that space debris, such as a meteorite or asteroid, hit the Earth’s surface. Or it could be an earthquake, the first lunar earthquake recorded since the 1970s. The moon’s surface and its geography could lead to explanations. ”
What is lunar plasma?
Isro posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the lander’s rover “made the first-ever measurements of the near-surface lunar plasma environment” in the Antarctic region and found it to be “relatively sparse.” When, many people wondered what on earth it meant.
Ms. Mitra explains that plasma refers to the presence of charged particles in the atmosphere that can interfere with the radio communications used by Chandrayaan-3.
“The fact that the signals are so sparse or thin is good news because it means there are far fewer interruptions in wireless communications.”
when the lander jumped off
The last thing the Vikram lander did before going to bed in early September was what Isro called a “hop experiment.”
The agency said the lander was “ordered to start its engines and ascended approximately 40 centimeters.” [16 inches] and landed at a distance of 30-40 cm.
It added that this “successful experiment” means the spacecraft could be used in the future to bring samples back to Earth or for a manned mission.
So, does this short hop mean a big leap forward for India’s future space program?
Mitra said, “Hop tested restarting the engine after landing on the moon and confirmed that it continued to operate normally.”
She added that the spacecraft also proved to have “capability to launch in the lunar soil environment, as previous testing and actual launches have only been conducted from Earth.”
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