The Indian Space Research Organisation on Monday said that Chandrayaan-3's Vikram Lander soft landed again on the lunar surface.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), ISRO said that Vikram Lander exceeded its mission objectives and it successfully underwent a hop experiment.
"On command, it fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected and landed safely at a distance of 30 – 40 cm away," the space agency said.
Stating its importance, ISRO said that "this 'kick-start' enthuses future sample return and human missions!"
All systems performed nominally and are healthy. Deployed Ramp, ChaSTE and ILSA were folded back and redeployed successfully after the experiment, ISRO said.
WATCH: Chandrayaan-3 Soft Lands On Moon Again
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
September 4, 2023
🇮🇳Vikram soft-landed on 🌖, again!
Vikram Lander exceeded its mission objectives. It successfully underwent a hop experiment.
On command, it fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected and landed safely at a distance of 30 – 40 cm away.… pic.twitter.com/T63t3MVUvIThe Vikram Lander is set into sleep mode around 08:00 Hrs. IST today, ISRO said post the lander hop experiment.
"Prior to that, in-situ experiments by ChaSTE, RAMBHA-LP and ILSA payloads are performed at the new location. The data collected is received at the Earth. Payloads are now switched off. Lander receivers are kept ON. Vikram will fall asleep next to Pragyan once the solar power is depleted and the battery is drained," the space agency said.
Here are the images before and after the hop:
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
September 4, 2023
Vikram Lander is set into sleep mode around 08:00 Hrs. IST today.
Prior to that, in-situ experiments by ChaSTE, RAMBHA-LP and ILSA payloads are performed at the new location. The data collected is received at the Earth.
Payloads are now switched off.… pic.twitter.com/vwOWLcbm6PChandrayaan 3 Mission Update: Rover Completes Its Assignments
In a post on Saturday, ISRO said that Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan Rover completed its assignments.
"It is now safely parked and set into Sleep mode. APXS and LIBS payloads are turned off. Data from these payloads is transmitted to the Earth via the Lander," ISRO said.
"Currently, the battery is fully charged. The solar panel is oriented to receive the light at the next sunrise expected on September 22, 2023. The receiver is kept on. Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments! Else, it will forever stay there as India's lunar ambassador," it added.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
August 31, 2023
The rover was rotated in search of a safe route. The rotation was captured by a Lander Imager Camera.
It feels as though a child is playfully frolicking in the yards of Chandamama, while the mother watches affectionately.
Isn't it?🙂 pic.twitter.com/w5FwFZzDMpAnother instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-3 mission's rover Pragyan has confirmed the presence of sulphur in the lunar region by deploying a different technique, ISRO said last week.
The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectroscope (APXS) has detected sulphur, as well as other minor elements on the Moon, the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency said in a social media post.
'This finding by Ch-3 compels scientists to develop fresh explanations for the source of Sulphur (S) in the area: intrinsic?, volcanic?, meteoritic?,......?' read the post.
ISRO also released a video of the rover rotating in search of a safe route. The rotation was captured by a lander imager camera.
India scripted history by soft-landing the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface on August 23.
India became the fourth country to touch the lunar surface and first to ever reach the south pole of the moon.
(With PTI inputs)
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