ANTARIKSA — The Indian Space Research Organization’s (Isro) ambitious lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, is currently in an inactive state on the moon. The spacecraft and rover robot that landed on the Moon on August 23, 2023 have been put into sleep mode forever.
Isro chief S Somnath said the Vikram spacecraft and Pragyan robot had completed a series of experiments. They will never return to Earth. “The Vikram lander is happily sleeping on the Moon after doing its job very well,” he said.
However, as the two remain in sleep mode, they encounter a new threat, coming from beyond the Moon. The biggest threat they face is the impact of micrometeoroids that continue to bombard the lunar surface.
A senior Isro official, who did not want to be named, said the two might have been hit by micrometeoroids. Isro knows this from the experience of previous missions that suffered a similar fate, including the Apollo spacecraft which remained on the surface of the Moon.
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Professor and Director of the Manipal Natural Sciences Center, Dr P Sreekumar, explained that the threat of corrosion is very minimal because there is no atmosphere or oxygen on the Moon. However, micrometeoroid impacts and extremely cold temperatures during long lunar nights could damage the probe.
“There is also constant radiation bombardment from the Sun because there is no atmosphere on the Moon. This may also cause some damage. “However, we don’t know what will happen because there is not much data about this,” he said.
Initially Vikram and Pragyan would only sleep for 1 lunar night or 14 earth days. After the sun rose again, mission control on Earth reawakened the two. However, the effort was in vain.
Isro scientists remained satisfied as the two had completed their mission for 14 days before being put to sleep.
The threat also comes from lunar dust that will reach the surface of landers and explorers. Unlike earth dust, moon dust can stick like glue to materials due to the absence of air. Moon dust once made Apollo missions difficult and is still an astronomical issue today.
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Sreekumar added that a layer of dust could be seen covering the reflectometer left by the Apollo astronauts on the surface of the Moon. “So we have an idea of that,” he said.
The mission’s main goal is to explore the moon’s south polar region, a region rich in water ice that has the potential to be a source of oxygen, fuel and water. Pragyan is designed to test the ability to drive on the moon, while Vikram is trying out a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface.
Pragyan, equipped with an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) and Laser Induced Damage Spectroscope (LIBS), is tasked with carrying out chemical analysis on the lunar surface. It confirmed the presence of sulfur on the surface near the South Pole, a finding that scientists consider important.
Also read: India’s Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft reveals that soil on the moon has a higher sulfur content
2023-10-21 06:27:00
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