The Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan-3 mission made a historic landing on the south pole of the moon on August 23, 2023. The landing generated a significant "ejecta halo," a bright patch of lunar dust displaced around the landing site.
Study Findings:
A study published in the Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing estimates that Vikram ejected and displaced about 2.06 tonnes of lunar epi regolith.
The displaced material covered an area of 108.4 m² around the landing site. These findings were announced by ISRO's National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).
Imagery Analysis:
The authors of the study compared pre- and post-landing high-resolution images from the orbiter high-resolution camera (OHRC) of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. They described the ejecta halo as an irregular bright patch surrounding the lander.
Significance for India:
This marks a historic event as India becomes the first nation to land in the moon’s polar region. The lander and the rover went into sleep mode after one lunar day (equivalent to 14 Earth days).
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