Indian Space Research Organization i.e. ISRO is creating history one after another. Meanwhile, there is news that India’s lunar mission i.e. Chandrayaan-3 has reached the phase of indefinite inactivity on the Moon. This mission, which created history by landing the lander Vikram on the Moon on the evening of 23 August, is still under everyone’s eye. It has been put on sleep mode. Although the mission has accomplished its objectives, it will never begin its return journey to Earth. It will remain on the surface of the moon only.
If reports are to be believed, as soon as the spacecraft enters this inactive phase, it has to face new challenges. Especially it has to face challenges arising from the atmosphere of the Moon. It is said that continuous shower of micrometeoroids is one of these dangers which is continuously seen on the surface of the moon.
The news has been published in a report of India Today quoting senior officials. This report states that the lander, Vikram, and its rover companion, Pragyan, have been deactivated. Doing so has made them vulnerable to these micrometeoroid impacts, which are a common threat to stable lunar missions. This incident is not only for Chandrayaan-3. This has influenced previous missions, including the Apollo spacecraft that still exist on the Moon.
The report further said that Dr. P. Sreekumar, Professor and Director, Manipal Center for Natural Sciences, clarified that the lunar environment, devoid of atmosphere and oxygen, eliminates the risk of corrosion. However, it remains to be seen how much the spacecraft can withstand the micrometeoroid impact. Not only this, what effect the extreme cold during long nights on the Moon will have on its flexibility will be known in the future.
Additionally, moon dust appears to present an interesting challenge. Actually, Moon dust is different from Earth’s dust due to the absence of air. It sticks to the surface. This was seen during the Apollo mission, in which the spacecraft had to face the problem of moon dust.
Talking about Chandrayaan-3, it was mainly designed for the purpose of collecting information about the southern polar region of the Moon, which is famous for possible reserves of water ice. This area is an important resource for the production of oxygen, fuel and water. The mission involved a rover tasked with demonstrating its mobility on lunar terrain, while the lander was engineered to make a soft and safe lunar touchdown.
The Pragyan rover, equipped with an Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS), was collecting information about the chemical analysis of the lunar surface. One of its important findings was the presence of sulfur near the Moon’s south pole, a discovery of considerable scientific importance. Apart from sulphur, the rover detected several other elements including aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon and oxygen.
In addition, the rover played a role in detecting seismic activity on the Moon using special instruments designed to monitor lunar earthquakes.