The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) monumental lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, has reached a stage of indefinite dormancy on the Moon. This mission, which made its lunar descent on August 23 and efficiently executed a sequence of experiments, together with the deployment of a rover, has now been positioned right into a perpetual sleep mode.

Although the mission has fulfilled its targets, it is going to by no means embark on a return journey to Earth and can as a substitute stay ensconced on the lunar floor.

As the spacecraft enters this dormant section, it faces new challenges, significantly these originating from the lunar atmosphere itself. One vital peril stems from the fixed barrage of micrometeoroids that incessantly pelt the Moon’s floor.

Threat of micrometeoroid

The lander, Vikram, together with its rover companion, Pragyan, have been powered down, rendering them weak to those micrometeoroid impacts, a typical risk confronted by stationary lunar missions, an India Today report quoted senior officers as saying. This phenomenon will not be unique to Chandrayaan-3 and has affected previous missions, together with the enduring Apollo spacecraft that also rests on the Moon.

Dr P Sreekumar, Professor and Director of the Manipal Centre for Natural Sciences, elucidated that the lunar atmosphere, devoid of an environment and oxygen, eliminates the danger of corrosion, the report additional learn. However, the spacecraft’s endurance in opposition to micrometeoroid impacts stays to be seen, together with its resilience in opposition to the acute chilly throughout the lengthy lunar nights.

Furthermore, the lunar mud poses an attention-grabbing problem. Lunar mud, distinct from Earth’s mud as a result of absence of air, tends to cling to surfaces. This was evident throughout the Apollo missions, which encountered lunar mud points on their spacecraft.

Chandrayaan-3’s achievements on the Moon

Chandrayaan-3 was primarily designed to discover the lunar south polar area, an space famend for its potential reserves of water ice, a useful resource essential for producing oxygen, gasoline, and water. The mission featured a rover tasked with demonstrating its mobility on the lunar terrain, whereas the lander was engineered to carry out a mushy and safe lunar landing.

The Pragyan rover, geared up with an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS), was liable for conducting chemical evaluation of the lunar floor. One of its vital findings was the presence of sulfur close to the lunar south pole, a discovery of appreciable scientific significance. In addition to sulfur, the rover detected numerous different parts, together with aluminum, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon, and oxygen.

Furthermore, the rover performed a task in detecting lunar seismic exercise utilizing specialised devices designed to observe moonquakes. This seismic discovery, coupled with the sulfur detection, has enriched our information of the Moon’s composition and geological dynamics.