Chandrayaan-3: Vikram sends temperature profile of lunar south pole

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, August 27, 2023: Isro on Sunday said that the Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) payload on Vikram, the Chandrayaan-3 lander, has measured the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole, to understand the thermal behaviour of the moon’s surface.

Sharing a graph with the update, Isro said: “The presented graph illustrates the temperature variations of the lunar surface/near-surface at various depths, as recorded during the probe’s penetration.

This is the first such profile for the lunar south pole. The space agency did not immediately elaborate more on this and one scientist told TOI that the data was still being analysed. Looking at the graph it shared, the variation in temperature is in the range of -10°Celsius to 60°Celsius, depending on the depth.

The ChaSTE payload has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of reaching a depth of 10cm beneath the surface. The probe is fitted with 10 individual temperature sensors. 

This is the first data Isro has officially announced from the Moon after Vikram’s flawless landing on August 23, following which Pragyan, the rover was deployed. All five Isro payloads on the lander and rover have begun in-situ experiments and their performance so far have been normal.

Data from the payload on the propulsion module has also begun reaching the ground stations and Isro is expected to continue making announcements about its lunar probes once basic analysis of data is complete.