The Indian Space Research Organistaion (ISRO) on Monday (August 29) informed that the Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyaan rover came across a four-meter diameter crater just ahead of its location on the lunar surface, following which it was commanded to retrace its path.
The National Space Agency in a social media post said that Pragyaan rover came across a four-metre diameter crater located three metres ahead of its location on August 27. ISRO added that the rover is now safely heading on a new path.
ISRO while sharing the images on X (formerly Twitter), said, “On August 27, 2023, the Rover came across a 4-meter diameter crater positioned 3 meters ahead of its location. The Rover was commanded to retrace the path. It’s now safely heading on a new path.”
“The rover was commanded to retrace the path,” it added.
The National Space Agency also said two of the three Chandrayaan-3 mission objectives have been achieved while the third — in-situ scientific experiments — are underway.
ISRO shares first observations made by ChaSTE payload
Moreover, ISRO also released the first observations from Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) payload on Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander on Sunday. ChaSTE payload onboard Vikram lander measured the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole in a bid to understand the thermal behaviour of the Moon’s surface.
The National Space Agency shared a graph of the temperature variation on the lunar surface on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Here are the first observations from the ChaSTE payload onboard Vikram Lander. ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment) measures the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole to understand the thermal behaviour of the moon’s surface,” ISRO said on social media platform ‘X’.
India to celebrate August 23 as ‘National Space Day’
Additionally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced that August 23 will now be celebrated as ‘National Space Day’ to mark the day when Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down on the lunar surface.
PM Modi also announced that the spot where the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander touched down would be known as ‘Shiv Shakti Point’, while the site where the Chandrayaan-2 lander crash-landed on the lunar surface a few years back would be known as ‘Tiranga Point’.