Pawan K Goenka, the Chairman of INSPACe and the Department of Space, as well as the Chairman of SCALE under DPIIT, shared on Wednesday an exciting update about Rover Pragyan from Chandrayaan-3. He revealed the first images capturing Rover Pragyan’s emergence from the lander’s ramp.
Subsequently, in the early hours of Thursday, Rover Pragyan embarked on its mission to explore the lunar terrain, as announced by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) through the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The spacecraft accomplished a remarkable landing on the uncharted southern pole of the moon on Wednesday evening, solidifying India’s position as the pioneering nation to achieve this remarkable feat.
Expressing this accomplishment, ISRO conveyed, “India’s lunar journey has begun.”
The agency elaborated, mentioning that the rover transitioned smoothly onto the lunar surface.
“Chandrayaan-3 ROVER: Crafted in India, Tailored for the Moon! The Ch-3 Rover gracefully descended from the lander, marking India’s first lunar stroll!,” the message declared. Authoritative sources had verified this development earlier.
Commending the ISRO team for the triumphant deployment of Pragyan, President Droupadi Murmu extended her congratulations.
“The rover’s rollout, shortly following Vikram’s landing, signifies another victorious stage of Chandrayaan 3. With anticipation, both citizens and scientists await the insights and discoveries that Pragyan will gather, enriching our comprehension of the moon,” President Droupadi Murmu articulated.
In a display of impeccable precision, Chandrayaan 3’s Lunar Module (LM) Vikram touched down on the lunar expanse at 6.04 p.m. on Wednesday, sparking jubilant celebrations across the nation. The ISRO had previously detailed that the 26 kg six-wheeled rover was slated to descend from the lander’s underbelly onto the moon’s surface, utilizing one of its side panels as a ramp.
The lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), jointly weighing 1,752 kg, are engineered to operate during a single lunar daylight period (equivalent to approximately 14 Earth days) to conduct comprehensive analyses of the lunar surroundings.
