Africa-Press – Eritrea. India’s Chandrayaan-3 becomes the first spacecraft to land near the south pole of the Moon.
The Vikram lander has touched down on the lunar surface.
Inside is the six-wheeled Pragyaan rover, which, if all goes to plan, will roam the lunar surface gathering images and data.
Scientists believe craters that are permanently in shadow on the dark side of the Moon may hold frozen water.
The attempt – India’s third lunar mission – comes days after Russia’s unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft span out of control and crashed into the Moon.
Firstly, the lander will wait a few hours for the lunar dust to quite literally settle.
After that, panels on one of its sides will open and a ramp will be deployed so that Pragyaan, the Moon rover, can slide down to the surface.
It will then roam around the rocks and craters on the Moon gathering crucial data and images to be sent back to Earth for analysis.
The lander and the rover are carrying five scientific instruments which will help find out “the physical characteristics of the surface of the Moon, the atmosphere close to the surface and the tectonic activity to study what goes on below the surface”.
The landing date has also been carefully selected to coincide with the start of a lunar day – which equals 28 Earth days – because the batteries of the lander and the rover will need sunlight to be able to charge and function.
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