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Live updates: Chandrayaan-3 successfully lands on Moon's south pole
(www.hindustantimes.com)
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Does anyone know what they're planning to study with this probe?
From a Reuters article:
The Chandrayaan-3 is aimed at the lunar south pole, a region with water ice, or frozen water, that could be a source of oxygen, fuel and water for future moon missions or a more permanent moon colony.
If it lands successfully, the Chandrayaan-3 is expected to remain functional for two weeks, running a series of experiments including a spectrometer analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface.
Edit: This is going to be the site of US' Artemis-III mission as well. So NASA would be very keen to know about the findings out of this rover and lander.
From Wikipedia:
ISRO has set the following mission objectives for the Chandrayaan-3 mission:
Getting a lander to land safely and softly on the surface of the Moon. Observing and demonstrating the rover’s loitering capabilities on the Moon. In-site observation and conducting experiments on the materials available on the lunar surface to better understand composition of the Moon.[17]
Thanks, it seems more of a technological proof of concept mission, rather than a purely scientific mission. Hopefully this leads to more space exploration capabilities in the international community.