India’s lunar exploration rover ‘Pragyan’, which successfully landed on the south pole of the moon and is conducting exploration, was captured on camera as it rotated and changed its course after encountering a steep lunar crater.
Space science media Space.com reported on the 1st (local time) that the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) released a video of Pragyan’s lunar exploration.
An Indian lunar exploration rover was caught on camera as it rotated around a rough crater. (Video = ISRO)
ISRO told X, “The rover rotated to find a safe path. The rotation was captured by the lander’s imager camera,” he said. “It’s like a mother watching her child fondly as she plays in the yard.”
In the video, the lunar exploration rover receiving sunlight is shown rotating and moving. Scientists explained that the maneuver was critical because Pragyan was approaching a rugged crater.
The lunar crater that Pragyan had to avoid (Photo = ISRO)
The scene was filmed on a camera aboard the Vikram lander, which allowed Pragyan to remain within the lander’s field of view at all times, allowing it to combine multiple photos taken by the lander into a short video.
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The South Pole of the Moon is known to be covered with numerous impact craters, some of which are deep and poorly lit and icy, making the terrain rugged. Because of this, it is a very difficult terrain for the rover to operate.
Despite this difficult environment, the Indian lunar probe measured and disclosed the temperature of the south pole of the moon for the first time, and confirmed the presence of sulfur on the surface of the south pole of the moon with the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) mounted on Pragyan.
