The lander module of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission created history on the evening of 23 August by landing on the south pole of the Moon. Its rover is now roaming on the moon. Chandrayaan-3’s rover ‘Pragyan’ has crossed the first hurdle on the moon. Pragyan came across a 100mm pothole which he negotiated with ease.
Pragyan Rover
- It is a rover to travel on the lunar surface and collect data, which has been landed on the moon by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) under the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
- The previous version of the rover was released as part of Chandrayaan-2 on 22 July 2019 and was destroyed along with its lander Vikram when it crashed into the Moon on 6 September.
- On 14 July 2023, Vikram and Pragyan were launched along with the new version Chandrayaan-3, which successfully landed near the south pole of the Moon on 23 August.
2 payloads in Rover Pragyan of Chandrayaan-3
- LASER Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS)
- Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS)
What is the function of the instruments fitted in Rover Pragyan
- LIBS: It will release high energy laser rays on the surface of the moon. This will reveal the chemical composition of the lunar surface.
- APXS: It will tell about the chemical structure of the moon. Meaning, this will reveal which elements are present on the moon.
A payload in the propulsion module of Chandrayaan-3
- Spectro-polarimetry of Habitatable Planet Earth (SHAPE)
Shape work
- SHAPE: Will study the light and waves coming from the Earth. Then will analyze the rest of the planets and tell what. He does not see any possibility of life there.
What will the equipment in the lander module do
- RAMBHA: It is to measure the density of lunar surface plasma (ions and electrons) and its changes with time. Since the Moon has neither its own atmosphere nor magnetic field, the plasma there comes from the Sun. This rod-shaped device installed in the lander will tell about the presence of any kind of radiation on the moon.
- ChaSTE: To measure the thermal properties of the lunar surface near the lunar polar region. Simply put, how much is the temperature of the moon, how much does it fluctuate. One end of this device will be inserted into the surface of the moon, just like a thermometer is placed in the mouth. Then it will also measure the effect of heat on the lunar surface.
- ILSA: Will measure seismic activity around the landing site. It will study after coming out of the lander but will not move. It has been kept connected to Vikram through a cable.
- LRA: It is a passive experiment to study the dynamics of the Moon system. This is NASA’s laser reflector. With its help the exact distance between the Moon and the Earth can be measured.
Process of Pragyan Rover of Chandrayaan-3
- The project director of Chandrayaan-3 told that there are many steps to move Pragyan from point A to B on the surface of the moon.
- For planning each route, data from the onboard cameras must be downloaded to the ISRO control center in Bengaluru.
- A digital elevation model (DEM) is created from this data. The ground and mechanism team then decides which path to take and commands the rover to follow.
- Veeramuthuvel said that there are some limitations to the rover movement. Each time a DEM of up to five meters can be created from the images sent by the navigation camera.
- This means that whenever the rover is given the command to move, it can cover a maximum distance of only five meters.
- Veeramuthuvel said that the rover faces challenges like many obstacles etc. He said that we were initially very concerned about the crater, but that obstacle has been overcome.