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‘Objects can hit from anywhere’: ISRO chief on big threat to Chandrayaan 3 on moon's surface
ISRO chief S Somanath said both the Lander and Rover are perfectly healthy and everything is working very well. There will be further movements.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath on Thursday said both the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover of Chandrayaan 3 are working well and there will be further movements. He however, listed the challenges that lie ahead for the moon mission.
“Both the Lander and Rover are perfectly healthy and everything is working very well. There will be further movements. Due to the absence of atmosphere on the Moon, objects can hit from anywhere. Along with that, there is a thermal issue and communication blackout problem", the ISRO chief told news agency PTI.
“If an asteroid or other object hits with tremendous velocity, both lander and rover will be destroyed. You can see the surface of the moon. It is full of marks caused by hitting of space objects. In earth too, lakhs of space objects come every hour, but we don't feel as our atmosphere burns all of them”, Somanath said.
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On Wednesday, India became the first country to touch down on the south pole of lunar surface. The Chandrayaan 3's ‘Vikram’ lander made a soft landing on the south pole at 6:04 PM IST, triggering jubilation across the country.
Earlier in the day, the ISRO informed that the Pragyan rover had ramped down from the lander and was “taking a walk on the moon”.
“Pragyan Rover has two instruments, both of which are related to the elemental composition findings on the moon as well as its chemical compositions. It will also rove the lunar surface. We will also do a robotic path planning exercise, which is important for future explorations into deep space”, ISRO chief had told ANI.
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“It's not just for ISRO, but for the entire country. We are equally proud like every other Indian that we had a successful landing this time. For all the hard work that was done for so many years, the results have come. We look forward to more challenging tasks,” Somanath told news agency PTI.
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“We say in ISRO that a fruit of good result is more work. I think that's what going to excite each one of us”, he added.
The ISRO chief has already confirmed that India's maiden solar mission ‘Aditya’ will be ready for launch next month.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
