Chandrayaan 3: ISRO scientists express safety concerns about Vikram Lander and Pragyan rover

ISRO scientists raise concerns over potential threats to the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover on the moon, including small asteroids, moon dust particles, and solar radiation. Chandrayaan 3 successfully landed on the moon's south pole but faces ongoing challenges, with the Pragyan rover making significant discoveries related to lunar chemical composition and seismic activity.

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientists are expressing concerns about potential astronomical threats to the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, which made history by successfully landing on the moon's south pole. According to Dr. P. Sreekumar, a professor at the Manipal Institute of Natural Sciences, these celestial challenges include the frequent arrival of small asteroids on the lunar surface, the menace of moon dust particles, and the potential danger posed by solar radiation.

The Chandrayaan 3 mission, which touched down on the moon on August 23, conducted a series of tests, including deploying the rover and then entering permanent sleep mode after a 14-day operation. ISRO Chairman S. Somnath confirmed that the Vikram lander was "happily sleeping on the moon" after fulfilling its mission. However, even in this sleep mode, the spacecraft faces ongoing threats, with extraterrestrial bodies being a significant concern.

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The Pragyan rover, equipped with the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS), is actively engaged in conducting chemical research on the lunar surface. It has already made some remarkable discoveries, detecting the presence of sulphur near the moon's south pole, along with traces of other essential elements such as silicon, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, aluminium, and oxygen.

The rover, which also boasts instruments designed to assess lunar seismic activity, has identified sulfur and detected signs of seismic movements beneath the lunar surface. These findings are invaluable in enhancing our understanding of the moon's geological activity, particularly the presence of sulphur.