NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of the landing site of India’s Chandrayaan-3 probe. India’s space agency, ISRO, launched its mission in July, and touched down near the moon’s south pole on August 23.
Launched in 2019, LRO has made a series of discoveries about the moon. Four days after the Chandrayaan-3 lander descended to the lunar surface, it pointed its LROC camera at the site. The instrument recorded a clear region formed by interactions between the rocket plume and the lunar regolith:
The mission took the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to our natural satellite, ready to operate for one lunar day (about 14 Earth days). Among Chandrayaan-3’s goals are a safe landing on the lunar surface, demonstration of rover operations and conducting science experiments on site.
During that period, one of Vikram’s payloads conducted an experiment that collected measurements to produce a profile of lunar soil temperatures. On the other hand, the Bragyan spacecraft has traveled through the region and collected its own data confirming the presence of sulfur there.
On Sunday (2), ISRO announced that the binary had completed its tasks and would therefore enter hibernation, disabling its tools. This measure was necessary so that the chariots could cope with the cold of the lunar night. Thus, when the sun rises again in the region, the members of the expedition will try to revitalize it.
source: NASA
