Chandrayaan-3 update: All systems are normal, Vikram lander instruments turned on

ISRO, on August 24, updated that all the activities of the Chandrayaan-3 mission are on schedule and all systems are normal. It also revealed that three instruments (ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE) onboard the Vikram lander have been turned on to carry on with the lunar exploration. The lander touched down at 6:04 pm IST on August 23, making India the fourth country to soft land on the Moon and the first to land near the lunar South Pole. 

ISRO further said that the mobility operations of the Pragyan rover, which rolled out on the lunar surface today, have also commenced. Besides, the Propulsion Module which is currently in the lunar orbit also had its SHAPE instrument turned on, on August 20. 

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
All activities are on schedule.
All systems are normal.

🔸Lander Module payloads ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE are turned ON today.

🔸Rover mobility operations have commenced.

🔸SHAPE payload on the Propulsion Module was turned ON on Sunday.

— ISRO (@isro) August 24, 2023

ISRO also shared a video captured by the Lander Imager Camera onboard the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft just before the landing on August 23. "Chandrayaan-3 Rover to MOX, ISTRAC, Moon walk begins!" the official handle of the Chandrayaan-3 mission posted on X confirming the commencement of its mobility operations to ISTRAC in Bengaluru. 

Here is how the Lander Imager Camera captured the moon's image just prior to touchdown. pic.twitter.com/PseUAxAB6G

— ISRO (@isro) August 24, 2023

About the lander instruments

The Vikram lander is equipped with four instruments, one of which is built by NASA -  the Laser Reflector Array (LRA) to measure the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The other three instruments are the RAMBHA-LP to measure the near-surface plasma density on the Moon, ChaSTE to carry out measurements of thermal properties of the lunar surface and ISLA to measure seismicity around the landing site. 

The Pragyan rover is equipped with two instruments - the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS). The APXS will be used to derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition to further enhance our understanding of the lunar surface whereas the LIBS will determine the elemental composition of lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site.