Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
As Chandrayaan-3 has completed two of three key objectives of the mission, the crucial stage just hit the action! On August 27, just four days following the triumphant soft landing of ISRO’s Chandrayaan on August 23, ISRO unveiled the initial findings from Chandrayaan 3’s mission.
The Vikram Lander of the Chandrayaan-3 has measured the temperature of the lunar soil. This marks the first instance of conducting temperature profiling of lunar soil around the southern pole, considering that no nation has previously achieved a soft landing on the moon’s southern pole. Here is what ISRO has revealed.
Chandrayaan-3 Observations
ISRO has revealed in a Tweet which says that the initial findings derived from the ChaSTE instrument installed on the Vikram Lander. ChaSTE, short for Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment, is designed to assess the temperature distribution of the lunar topsoil near the pole, thereby enhancing our comprehension of the Moon’s thermal characteristics.
The instrument features a temperature probe accompanied by a controlled penetration mechanism, enabling it to reach depths up to 10 cm beneath the surface. Additionally, the examination incorporates 10 distinct temperature sensors.
Observation of Variation of Temperature on Lunar Surface with Increase in Depth
ISRO has provided a graph that visualizes the fluctuations in temperature experienced by the lunar surface and its immediate sub-surface across various depths, as meticulously recorded during the probe’s penetration process. Notably, this profile is the inaugural depiction of its kind concerning the moon’s southern pole. Further detailed investigations are presently in progress.
The development of this payload is credited to a collaborative effort led by the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) in partnership with the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad.
