India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar rover has just transmitted its first images of the moon as it entered the lunar orbit. On August 6, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released these photos revealing the spacecraft and a closer view of the moon. ISRO revealed that its Chandrayaan-3 rover which was launched on July 14 will be attempting to land on the lunar surface on August 23. Before the spacecraft arrived in the lunar orbit, it first entered an initial highly elliptical Earth orbit after its launch.
From this point, the spacecraft slowly raised its orbit and initiated a burn on July 31st that injected it into the lunar orbit. ISRO announced that the Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander entered the lunar orbit on August 5. ISRO merged a 45-second video detailing the newly released images of the moon. These images of the moon also showed the solar arrays of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, large impact craters, and lunar mare.
What’s Next for Chandrayaan-3 lunar rover after it captured images of the moon
As Chandrayaan-3 lunar rover successfully captured detailed images of the moon, its next goal will focus on conducting further engine burns to move into a circular orbit at about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the lunar surface a week before its landing. In addition, ISRO plans to land its Chandrayaan-3 rover and lander in a particular location on the lunar south pole.
Once the agency succeeds with this mission, India will become part of the nations that have landed a lander or rover on the lunar surface. Other nations that have successfully made such an attempt in the past include the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union.
Once the 6-billion-rupee (roughly $73 million) Chandrayaan-3 mission lands on the moon, ISRO will commence preparing for a bigger space mission to the lunar surface and beyond. The spacecraft will touch down the lunar surface with a lander and a rover. Its lunar lander named Vikram houses a small rover identified as Pragyan.
ISRO announced that the two space probes will stay for about 14 Earth days conducting several lunar experiments before the deep cold lunar night weather will terminate the mission.
Conclusion
New images of the moon captured by India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission have revealed a new look at our nearest celestial neighbor. Hence, as the spacecraft’s lander and rover land on the lunar surface, we should be expecting to unlock several mysteries about the lunar surface.
