Thiruvananthapuram: As the country waits with bated breath for the Chandrayaan-3’s scheduled Moon landing on August 23, India’s ambitious moon mission is grabbing more eyeballs.
The ambitious moon mission, a follow-up of Chandrayaan-2, is moving towards its landing in two days, and the anxiety and suspense continue to grip the nation and the fraternity. The ISRO scientists are naturally waiting to see the fruits of their toil.
Dr. K. Rajeev , Director, Space Physics laboratory, VSSC, on Monday explained the payloads in Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover. He said the temperature outside the surface can be high but inside is low. "We will measure the temperature in regular intervals to find out the conductivity which is the major factor for future estimation. Payloads will also study the moon's plasmaspheric exosphere. Seismographs are also included in the lander to study seismic activity. It will look into the cause of seismic activity on the lunar surface. seismic activity may be caused by lunar interior or by meteoric heat," he said.
According to him, there are two payloads in the rover to study elemental composition of the lunar surface and plasma density. Alpha particles X-ray spectrometer and laser-induced breakdown spectrometer will measure these.
Launched from Sriharikota, Chandrayaan-3 consists of lander Vikram and rover Pragyan. The lander will enable the safe and soft landing at the lunar site. Thereafter, the rover will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface. The objective of the mission is to develop and demonstrate new technologies required for interplanetary missions.
