New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Monday that the Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram had exceeded its mission objectives and successfully undergone a hop experiment.
“Vikram soft-landed on the Moon, again,” the space agency captioned its post on X, on which it has given a daily commentary as lander Vikram and rover Pragyan went about their jobs on the lunar south pole after a historic touchdown on 23 August.
The space agency said Monday that Vikram fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 centimetres “as expected” and landed safely at a distance of 30 to 40 centimetres away.
ISRO said the significance of this “kick-start” was that it enthused “future sample return and human missions”.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
🇮🇳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/T63t3MVUvI
— ISRO (@isro) September 4, 2023
Soon after it landed at 6.04 pm on 23 August, Vikram rolled out the Pragyan rover and both began to explore the lunar surface.
Since then, payloads on the solar-powered Pragyan and Vikram have confirmed the presence of sulphur on the Moon. Pragyan has also managed to show its capability to autonomously navigate the surface of the moon, detecting and avoiding obstacles in its path.
As the lunar ‘day’, which lasts 14 Earth days, comes towards an end, both the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover will face freezing temperatures which are likely to jam the systems.
However, ISRO chief S. Somanath indicated last Saturday that the space agency would make an effort to help the instruments survive the long night, lasting another 14-odd days, in order to continue performing scientific experiments for another lunar day.
Previously, it was expected that Vikram and Pragyan would not last beyond the first fourteen days of sunshine.
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