Chandaryaan 3 Rover Pragyan Faces Large Crater During Moon Walk

India’s Pragyan rover encountered a four-meter crater on the Moon’s surface, prompting a safe re-routing by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). ISRO confirmed the rover spotted the crater at a safe distance and adjusted its path accordingly. The solar-powered, six-wheeled rover will explore an unmapped area, transmitting images and scientific data over a two-week period.

With just 10 days left for the conclusion of a lunar day, Nilesh M Desai, Director of Space Applications Centre (SAC), stated that Chandrayaan-3’s rover module, Pragyan, is in a “race against time” to cover as much distance as possible in the uncharted South pole region of the moon. The mission’s objectives include a soft landing, rover movement, and gathering scientific data via payloads attached to the rover and lander Vikram.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:

On August 27, 2023, the Rover came across a 4-meter diameter crater positioned 3 meters ahead of its location.
The Rover was commanded to retrace the path.

It’s now safely heading on a new path.#Chandrayaan_3#Ch3 pic.twitter.com/QfOmqDYvSF

— ISRO (@isro) August 28, 2023

Desai noted that the first two objectives have been successfully achieved, while the third is ongoing.

On a recent note, ISRO confirmed the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander module has begun its experiments and is relaying data back to headquarters. The space agency shared a temperature variation graph of the lunar surface’s depth using the ChaSTE payload on Vikram lander module. The payload includes a temperature probe with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of reaching 10 cm below the surface.

India celebrated a major achievement on August 23 with the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3’s lander module on the Moon’s South pole. This milestone makes India the fourth nation, following the US, China, and Russia, to achieve a lunar surface landing.