ISRO shares observations on Lunar surface temperature captured by Chandrayan-3 rover

ISRO on Sunday shared the first set of observations gathered by the Chandryaan-3 on the temperature of the top layer of the Lunar surface at its south pole.

The ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment) tool on Vikram Lander, which landed on the Moon on Wednesday, measures the temperature profile of the lunar surface by penetrating up to 10 cm deep.

ISRO on X (formerly Twitter) said: “ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment) measures the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole, to understand the thermal behaviour of the moon’s surface. It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of reaching a depth of 10 cm beneath the surface. The probe is fitted with 10 individual temperature sensors.”

“This is the first such profile for the lunar south pole. Detailed observations are underway,” it added.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
Here are the first observations from the ChaSTE payload onboard Vikram Lander.

ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment) measures the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole, to understand the thermal behaviour of the moon’s… pic.twitter.com/VZ1cjWHTnd

— ISRO (@isro) August 27, 2023

Earlier on Friday, Isro said the Chandrayaan-3 rover, called ‘Pragyan’, has successfully traversed a distance of about eight metres and its payloads have been turned on.

“All planned rover movements have been verified. The rover has successfully traversed a distance of about 8 metres. Rover payloads LIBS and APXS are turned on,” the space agency said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“All payloads on the propulsion module, lander module, and rover are performing nominally,” it confirmed.

The Surface Thermophysical Experiment tool was turned on thursday, alonf with the ILSA and RAMBHA payloads.