>
New images show the Indian lunar rover beginning to explore the lunar surface just one day after arriving at the moon’s southern mole.
Chandrayaan-3, which landed on the moon’s south pole on Wednesday, consists of a stationary quadruped lander and a smaller rover inside.
The new clip shows the plucky four-wheeled rover descending the lander’s ramp and beginning to wander across the dusty ground, leaving trails behind.
Chandrayaan-3 sent back its first image of the lunar surface yesterday, as well as four amazing images of the moon from above as it descends.
While the Indian Space Agency has yet to confirm the exact spot where Chandrayaan-3 landed, it is believed to be the same intended landing site of the failed 2019 Chandrayaan-2 craft — between the southern craters of Manzinus C and Simpelius N.
Chandrayaan-3’s cute little lander bravely makes its way out of its parent craft and begins to explore the moon’s south pole
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has confirmed that its historic mission is proceeding according to plan and that the systems are operating properly.
All activities are on schedule. All systems are normal’, ISRO placed on Xformerly Twitter.
“Rover mobility operations have begun.”
There are two science instruments in the rover (nicknamed ‘Pragyan’) and three instruments on board the lander (‘Vikram’), and they are all switched on sequentially.
They will study the moon’s atmospheric and mineral composition, including the patches of water ice that are common in the south of the lunar region.
The science instruments will be active for about one Monday, or 14 Earth days, before losing power — a relatively short mission.
ISRO chairman Sreedhara Somanath admitted there are “many issues” on the moon’s surface, such as lunar dust and cold temperatures, that could affect the rover’s moving parts over the 14-day period.
“The mechanisms, the moving objects… can get caught in the dust there,” he told Indian TV channel CNN News 18.
Chandrayaan-3 rover that weighs just 26kg (57lb) – about the same as three large watermelons
“It can get into the moving parts and block them, the bearings of the system may not work, the motors may not work.”
“All this creates problems in those mechanisms… so let’s see how it works.
“We’ll face it… that’s why we’re investigating. If everything is known, what’s the fun in it?’
The South Pole is still uncharted territory for humanity and a long way from the equatorial region that was the target of previous lunar missions, such as the manned Apollo landings in the 1960s and 1970s.
Not only is it full of dramatic craters and deep trenches, but also extremely cold temperatures (as low as -246°C according to NASA), which can strain the power systems of any spacecraft.
But such temperatures also mean that the South Pole has an unusual abundance of water reserves frozen like ice, which is of great interest to scientists.
These layers of water ice, known as “cold traps,” can persist for thousands of years on “airless bodies” that lack an atmosphere, such as the moon.
Therefore, they could provide a record of microbial life, lunar volcanoes, material delivered to Earth by comets and asteroids, or the origin of former oceans.
They could even provide a water source for future human outposts on the moon, either for drinking or irrigating crops.
Chandrayaan-3 sent back its first image of the lunar surface yesterday, as well as four amazing images of the moon from above as it descends. This is one of them
The Chandrayaan-3 lander, with its rover inside, sits atop the propulsion module that propelled it to lunar orbit. The lander successfully descended to the lunar surface on Wednesday
The unforgiving southern part of the moon is also arousing great interest among space agencies in Russia, China and the US.
Russia attempted to land a spacecraft on the southern moon last weekend, but failed spectacularly when it spiraled out of control and wrecked — leaving the way clear for India to seal the feat instead.
While India is the fourth country to safely land a spacecraft on the moon after the US, Russia and China, it made history as the first country to do so at the south pole of the moon.
Chandrayaan-3 left Earth just over a month ago aboard a rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Center north of Chennai on July 14.
The Indian spacecraft took much longer to reach the moon than the Apollo missions, which arrived within days, because the Asian country uses much less powerful rockets.
This meant that Chandrayaan-3 had to orbit the Earth several times after launch to gain speed before starting its month-long orbit on the Moon.
Chandrayaan-3 then spent more than two weeks in lunar orbit before successfully landing on Wednesday, bringing joy to India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed a “historic day” for his country’s space sector, adding that “India is now on the moon.”
Indians wave national flags as they celebrate the successful lunar landing of spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the moon’s south pole, on the streets of Mumbai on August 24, 2023
Locals wave the Indian flag as an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) rocket carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh on April 14 July 2023
This image from an Indian Space Research Organization video shows the moon’s surface as the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft prepares for landing on Wednesday. The gold insulation material and the solar panels are visible
India has a relatively inexpensive aerospace program, but it has grown significantly in size and momentum since the country first sent a probe to the moon (Chandrayaan-1) in 2008.
The latest mission comes with a price tag of $74.6 million – much lower than those of other countries, and a testament to India’s thrifty space engineering.
Experts say India can keep costs down by copying and adapting existing aerospace technology, and thanks to an abundance of highly skilled engineers who earn a fraction of the wages of their foreign counterparts.
In 2014, India became the first Asian country to launch a satellite into orbit around Mars, and is set to launch a three-day manned mission into orbit next year.
India is also working with the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) on Chandrayaan-4, which would also land in the south of the moon, but would have a much longer lifespan.
The launch of Chandrayaan-4 is tentatively scheduled for 2025 or 2026.