India's space research division, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has located its mission, Chandrayaan-3, back on the surface of the moon.
They used the satellite's laser altimeter instrument to beam and receive laser pulses from a minuscule NASA retroreflector instrument of the Vikram lander within India's Chandrayaan-3 mission. This is the first time that such a technique has been used to precisely locate a target on the Moon from orbit.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2, which was an attempt to soft land the Vikram near the lunar south pole in September 2019.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission will have a lander like that of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, Vikram, and rover like Pragyan but with improvements.The mission was launched on July 14, 2023, using LVM3-M4 launch vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR).
The primary objective of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is safe and soft landing on the surface of the moon, vehicle stability on the lunar surface while conducting scientific experiments, and chemical analysis studies from the in situ instruments.
It will also carry a NASA retroreflector device called LRA, standing for Laser Retroreflector Array, which is a simple and robust optical device that returns light back to its source along the same direction from which it came. In fact, the very purpose of an LRA is to offer a permanent laser-ranging point on the Moon that could assist in measuring lunar orbit and rotation, testing theories of gravity, besides serving further navigation and exploration in future.
The LRO is a NASA spacecraft that orbits the Moon since 2009, using scientific tools to investigate it and a high-resolution telescopic camera among other instruments to map its structure.
One of the instruments aboard LRO is the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter abbreviated as LOLA which determines the distance between the spacecraft and the surface of the moon of a round trip time of laser pulse returns. The LOLA can also detect laser pulses reflected from other sources, such as the LRA on the Vikram lander.
The LRO pointed its LOLA instrument towards the Vikram lander that sat 62 miles, or 100 kilometers away, from the LRO near Manzinus crater in the Moon's South Pole region on Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. EST.
The LRA of the lander touched the surface of the Moon with a thud 4 minutes after landing and cut off the engine. The LRO sent laser pulses to the lander and detected light returning back from the LRA of the lander.
The successful experiment exposes the new style of properly pinpointing unusual targets with enhanced precision at the Moon's surface, something that can hold many applications to future lunar missions. For example, the technique may assist in tracking positions and orientations of landers and rovers, monitoring their health and status, as well as helping in navigation and communication.
It may also enable the more accurate and efficient mapping of lunar terrains and features, in addition to improving scientific understanding with regard to Moon's geology, topography, and environment.
And the experiment also exemplified the great partnership, cooperation between NASA and ISRO who have been supporting each other in many areas of lunar exploration. Inter-institutional activities involving sharing of data and expertise, payloads and instruments, mission operations and objectives among them have been mutually shared and benefited.
The two agencies shared their combined efforts that resulted in the improvement of scientific and technological capabilities that brought about lunar science and exploration advancement.
The LRO and the Chandrayaan-3 mission would continue independently to contribute their roles, commitments as well as work together in further rounds of experiments and observations. The LRO will continue mapping out the lunar surface besides collecting data with regard to moon geology, temperature, radiation, water ice, and establishing exactly where the moon is altered by these factors including human visits.
This time, the Chandrayaan-3 mission will once again carry instrument payloads to carry out studies on the Moon's surface and its atmosphere for one lunar day.
The lander carries four instruments - Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA), Chandra's Surface Thermo physi cal Experiment (ChaSTE), Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA), and Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA).
Onboard are two instruments: Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS). Onboard the propulsion module which took the lander and rover from launch injection to lunar orbit is also an instrument: Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE).
Both the LRO as well as Chandrayaan-3 missions were expected to provide with immense insights and discoveries about the Moon besides opening out avenues of future lunar mission both robotic as well as human.
The LRO, and the Chandrayaan-3 mission it is devoted to, refer to the global effort aimed at the study and better understanding of the Moon, the fascinating celestial body that keeps many secrets but might probably sort mankind's object of interest as a destination and another source of various resources. –(IVNTV)