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| Unveiling the Enigmatic: Pragyan Rover's Maiden Shots Emerge, Illuminating India's Lunar Odyssey |
BENGALURU's Lunar Triumph: Pragyan Rover Emerges in First Images,
Elevating India's Moon Missions
Just two sunrises after the historic touchdown of Vikram, the
Chandrayaan-3 lander, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has
unveiled the maiden snapshots of the Pragyan rover. In a captivating video
disclosed by ISRO, the rover gracefully descended from Vikram's extended ramps,
marking a pivotal moment in India's lunar expedition.
The Chandrayaan-3 initiative stands as India's third lunar venture and its
second endeavor to achieve a gentle Moon landing. The initial attempt,
Chandrayaan-2, faced setbacks in 2019 when it could not execute a successful
landing. Rewinding further, ISRO's inaugural lunar expedition was embarked upon
with Chandrayaan-1 back in 2008.
Pragyan, the rover, embarked on its pioneering journey in the early hours
of Thursday, transitioning into a rover later in the day. Anticipation grows as
its payloads are set to activate later today, on Friday.
Post the Moon's momentous embrace of Vikram, Thursday witnessed the
activation of three payloads aboard the lander. These include the Instrument
for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA), Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive
Ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA), and Chandra’s Surface Thermo-Physical
Experiment (ChaSTE).
The propulsion module's payload, Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet
Earth (SHAPE), was previously initiated on Sunday.
S Somanath, Chairman of ISRO, affirmed that Pragyan's mobilization
commenced on Thursday, propelled by fully charged batteries. However, the
rover's exploration is confined within a designated observational zone. Both
Vikram and Pragyan are tailored to operate through one lunar day, equivalent to
14 Earth days.
Regarding the seemingly delayed rollout, Somanath explained, "After
the nominal landing, there were a lot of things we had to check, including
inclination, terrain condition, temperatures, and wait for the lunar dust to
settle before the rover could be brought out. Once all these checks were done,
the ramp deployment was completed and the rover came out late last night."
The activation of rover payloads is poised to initiate, with expectations
that they will be operational by Friday, coinciding with the activation of
other payloads on the lander.
As the payloads of Vikram and Pragyan become operational, India's lunar
data reservoir is poised to flourish. Presently, the country boasts 15
scientific instruments, dedicated to the study of the Moon, the Sun's
interactions with it, and Earth. Notably, eight instruments are onboard the
Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which has been orbiting the Moon since 2019.
To date, India has amassed a staggering 65 terabytes of data from the
orbiter, a repository of insights spanning lunar, solar, and terrestrial
realms. A significant chunk of this information, around 60 terabytes, hails
from four key instruments developed by the Space Applications Centre (SAC).
Nilesh M Desai, Director of SAC, emphasized the orbiter's ongoing role:
"Placed in its intended orbit around the Moon in August 2019, the orbiter
continues to enrich our understanding of the Moon’s evolution and mapping of
the minerals and water molecules in the Polar regions, using its eight
state-of-the-art scientific instruments, four of which were built by us."
A considerable share of data, approximately 4.5 terabytes, emanates from
the Solar X-ray Monitor (XSM), designed to detect X-rays from the Sun and its
corona. Developed by the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), this innovation
complements the Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS), which
scrutinizes solar X-rays' interactions with the lunar surface.
While Chandrayaan-2 data initially underwent a nine-month calibration and
peer review period, it has subsequently yielded a multitude of scientific
publications worldwide
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