📷 Image Credits: The Indian Express
In a groundbreaking discovery by ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 rover Pragyan on the Moon’s South pole, small rock fragments scattered around the wall slopes, floor, and rim of a small crater have been found in the southern region of the Moon. According to the data analysis of the Pragyan rover, which landed on the Moon’s southern pole on August 23, 2023, commanded by the Vikram lander, the findings will help in resolving the mystery of the origin and distribution of rock fragments on the lunar surface. The Pragyan rover traveled around 103 meters in a single lunar day on the Moon’s surface, weighing 27 kilograms with several equipment and cameras fitted to it. At the landing site, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi named as Shiv Shakti point, the rover traversed around 39 meters west and found that the number of rocks and its fragments kept on increasing. The data analyzed in a report presented at the International Conference on Planets, Exoplanets, and Habitability earlier this year points out that these rocks and fragments have been sourced through a crater nearby that region which could have a diameter of around 10 meters. The findings showcase a significant advancement in our understanding of lunar geology and will contribute to future missions to the Moon for potential resource utilization and further exploration.
