The American space agency NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured an image of the Chandrayaan-3 landing site. Currently positioned near the moon’s south pole following its successful soft landing on August 23, the Chandrayaan-3 landing site is approximately 600 kilometers away from the Moon’s South Pole.
The camera mounted on the NASA orbiter obtained an oblique view, with a 42-degree slew angle, of the Vikram lander just four days after its touchdown. Launched on June 18, 2009, the NASA orbiter has amassed a wealth of data, significantly contributing to our knowledge of the moon.
According to a statement by NASA, “The bright halo around the vehicle resulted from the rocket plume interacting with the fine-grained regolith (soil).” The space agency also captured an image on the rocket.
On August 23, India achieved a significant milestone as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully touched down on the moon’s South Pole. This accomplishment marked India as the first country to achieve this historic feat, putting an end to the disappointment stemming from Chandrayaan-2 crash-landing four years prior.
India joined an exclusive club, becoming the fourth country, following the United States, China, and Russia, to accomplish a successful moon landing.
After landing, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover embarked on a series of tasks on the lunar surface, which included detecting the presence of sulfur and other minor elements, recording temperature variations, and monitoring surrounding movements.
Meanwhile, both the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover remain in “sleep mode,” and they are anticipated to awaken around September 22, 2023.
In a recent update, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) released a three-dimensional ‘anaglyph’ image of the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander taken from the moon’s South Pole. Anaglyph is a straightforward method for visualizing objects or landscapes in three dimensions using stereo or multi-view images.
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