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  • 8/28/2023
In a significant development for India's space exploration, the Pragyan rover, part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, has successfully negotiated its first lunar obstacle. The rover, which, landed on the Moon's south polar region on August 23, managed to traverse a lunar crater with a depth of around 100 mm. This achievement has instilled confidence in the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) control room back home, which continues to guide and monitor the rover through several such challenges.

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00:00 In a significant development for India's space exploration, the Pragyan rover, part
00:08 of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, has successfully negotiated its first lunar obstacle.
00:13 The rover, which landed on the moon's South Polar region on August 23, managed to traverse
00:18 a lunar crater with a depth of around 100 mm.
00:22 This achievement has instilled confidence in the ISRO control room back home, which
00:26 continues to guide and monitor the rover through several such challenges.
00:30 The rover aboard Chandrayaan-3 also encountered a 4-metre diameter crater.
00:34 It was commanded to retrace its path after this.
00:38 This comes after it negotiated its first lunar obstacle.
00:42 According to the latest reports, Pragyan managed to traverse a lunar crater with a depth of
00:45 around 100 mm.
00:46 The Pragyan rover's movements are not fully autonomous and are controlled from Bengaluru,
00:51 with each step requiring careful planning and execution involving many steps.
00:55 According to reports for every route planning, onboard navigation camera data needs to be
00:59 downloaded to the ground for the generation of a digital elevation model.
01:03 Then the ground and mechanisms team decide which path to take and uplink the command
01:07 for the rover to follow.
01:08 However, there are limitations to the rover's operations.
01:12 The maximum DEM that can be generated is for 5 metres each time the navigation camera sends
01:17 images.
01:18 This means that every time the rover is commanded to move, it can at best cover 5 metres.
01:23 Chandrayaan-3 project director P. Veeramuthawal said that even within this range, there are
01:28 obstacles and challenges.
01:30 Despite these challenges, the rover successfully overcame its first obstacle, a lunar crater,
01:34 much to the relief of the ISRO team.
01:37 The rover's movements also face limitations such as non-availability of telemetry and
01:40 telecommunications 24/7 and the need to track the sun continuously.
01:45 As a result, the turnaround time between each movement operation is around 5 hours.
01:49 Despite these challenges, the project director expressed confidence in the rover's progress
01:53 and the possibility of good outcomes.
01:55 The Pragyan rover, equipped with a variety of instruments, is tasked with studying the
01:58 moon's geology and atmosphere.
02:01 It has already traversed a distance of about 8 metres since its rollout from the lander.
02:07 The rover's successful negotiation of its first lunar obstacle marks a historic moment
02:11 in India's space mission, paving the way for further exploration and understanding
02:15 of the lunar surface.
02:16 The ISRO on Sunday shared observations made by ChASTE payload on board Vikram Lander on
02:20 the lunar surface.
02:21 According to the space agency, ChASTE's Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment measures
02:26 the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole to understand the thermal
02:30 behaviour of the moon's surface.
02:32 It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of
02:36 reaching a depth of 10 centimetres beneath the surface.
02:39 The probe is fitted with 10 individual temperature sensors, ISRO said in an ex-post.
02:42 "The ChANDRA's Surface Thermal Experiment measures the temperature profile of the lunar
02:43 surface around the pole to understand the thermal behaviour of the lunar surface.
02:44 It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable
02:45 of reaching a depth of 10 centimetres beneath the surface.
02:46 It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of
02:47 reaching a depth of 10 centimetres beneath the surface.
02:48 It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of
02:49 reaching a depth of 10 centimetres beneath the surface.
02:50 It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of reaching
02:51 a depth of 10 centimetres beneath the surface.

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