The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has provided an exciting update on the progress of the Pragyan Rover on the Lunar Surface. The space agency released two videos showcasing the rover’s movements after the successful soft-landing of the Chandrayaan-3’s lander, Vikram, on the Moon’s south pole.

The first video, lasting 30 seconds, shows the Pragyan rover rolling out from the lander onto the lunar surface. The footage was captured by the lander imager camera. The second video displays the ramp deployment from the lander module before the rover’s roll-out, as well as the deployment of the rover’s solar panel.

According to ISRO, all planned rover movements have been verified, and the rover has successfully covered a distance of approximately eight meters. Additionally, the rover’s payloads, Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) and Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS), have been turned on. These payloads will assist in determining the elemental composition near the landing site.

ISRO further revealed that the lander and rover have a mission life of one lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days. The lander carries four payloads to study thermal conductivity, temperature, seismicity, and other lunar surface characteristics. Of these payloads, three – ILSA, RAMBHA, and ChaSTE – have been activated and are functioning normally.

It is worth noting that ISRO briefly shared images from Chandrayaan-2’s Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC) capturing Chandrayaan-3’s lander on social media before deleting them later.

Sources:

– ISRO (via Twitter)

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