Moon probe: Chandrayaan-3 shares first image – Science

The image, taken by one of the probe’s instruments, shortly after it landed, shows a relatively flat area.

The Indian Space Research Organization also released images of the lunar soil during the final stage of the descent on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

The probe was launched into space in July and is equipped with a robotic rover that will soon separate from the main vehicle and explore the landing site.. It also has a series of science experiments planned for the lunar south pole.

The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 at 13:33 (Lisbon time) made India the first country to land a spacecraft on the moon’s south pole, an unexplored region where there would be large amounts of water ice.

See the photos of the landing operation shared by the control center

For Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today was a “historic day” for the country.

This is the Second attempt for graduates from India. in July 2019The country prepared to launch the unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-2But the launch ended up being canceled less than an hour early. According to a spokesman for the Indian Space Research Organization, a technical problem has been discovered in the launch vehicle system.

Scientific mission

Chandrayaan-3 will remain active on the lunar surface for 14 days. According to a statement from the European Space Agency (ESA), which is monitoring the mission through remote scientific and instrument data transmission stations.

Chandrayaan-3’s landing came just days after Russia failed to land the Luna-25 probe in the same region of the moon.

And in the south pole of the moon, the United States wants to place the first female astronaut and the first black female astronaut in December 2025, within the framework of the new lunar Artemis program.

The United States is the only country so far that put astronauts on the moon, between 1969 and 1972.. They were all men and were part of the Apollo program, which he ended up deactivating. The idea now is to include women and the first black astronauts on future missions, who have already begun training.

The United States, Russia (the former Soviet Union) and China had already sent spacecraft to the Moon, but to other areas of the Earth’s natural satellite surface.