With a hop on Moon, Vikram lander exceeds Chandrayaan-3 mission goals
It has come as a boost for future sample return missions and potential human expeditions to the Moon
Days after Chandrayaan-3’s successful moon landing, the ISRO on Monday (September 4) announced that its Vikram Lander has exceeded its mission objectives by successfully conducting a hop experiment on the lunar surface.
“Vikram Lander has exceeded Chandrayaan-3 mission objectives and successfully completed a “hop experiment”. On command, it fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected and landed safely at a distance of 30-40 cm away,” tweeted the space agency.
This significant milestone in India’s space exploration journey has come as a boost for future sample return missions and potential human expeditions to the moon. The successful execution of the hop experiment also demonstrates the lander’s ability to move and navigate the lunar terrain, a critical capability for future exploratory missions.
It not only showcases the country's technological prowess but also paves the way for more ambitious lunar missions in the future. As ISRO continues to analyse the valuable data relayed back from the Vikram Lander, the world eagerly awaits more breakthroughs from this pioneering lunar mission.
The Vikram Lander, which touched down on the moon's surface on August 23, carries four payloads designed to study various aspects of the lunar environment. These include RAMBHA, which measures near-surface plasma density; ChaSTE, which gauges the thermal properties of lunar soil; ILSA, which monitors seismic activity around the landing site; and LRA, which helps understand the dynamics of the lunar system.
Following the hop experiment, all systems on the Vikram Lander were reported to be performing nominally and in good health. The deployed Ramp, ChaSTE, and ILSA were folded back and successfully redeployed after the experiment, further demonstrating the lander’s operational capabilities.