Chandrayaan-3 updates: NRSC/ISRO scientists estimates that about 2.06 tonnes of lunar epiregolith that got scattered around the landing site

India wrote another chapter in the history of Space with the successful landing of the Vikram lander on the south pole of the lunar surface on 23 August 2023.

The journey which commenced on 14 July 2023, entered the lunar orbit on 5 August. After its launch, the lander repositioned itself 30-40 cm from the position of landing on 3^rd September. After the successful completion of the primary objective of successfully launching the lander to land safely and softly on the moon, ISRO has been monitoring the execution of other activities and tasks.

In the latest developments, ISRO took to the social media platform X and shared new significant information. According to the post, NRSC/ISRO scientists have asserted that after the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module landed on the lunar surface, it generated a spectacular ‘ejecta halo’ of lunar material. They further estimated that the ejected lunar epiregolith amounted to about 2.06 tonnes. This lunar material was displaced up to an area of 108.4² around the landing site.

Chandrayaan-3 Results:
On August 23, 2023, as it descended, the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module generated a spectacular 'ejecta halo' of lunar material.

Scientists from NRSC/ISRO estimate that about 2.06 tonnes of lunar epiregolith were ejected and displaced over an area of 108.4 m²…

— ISRO (@isro) October 27, 2023

Some previous updates of the Chandrayaan-3, which ISRO shared on their official site are as follows:

• The first observations from the ChaSTE payload onboard Vikram Lander were carried out on August 27, 2023.
• On August 28, LIBS confirmed the presence of Sulphar (S) on the lunar surface.
• On August 30, 2023, APXS on-board Ch-3 rover detected some minor elements.
• On August 31, 2023, ISLA listened to the movements around the landing site. RAMBHA-LP on-board Chandrayaan-3 measured near-surface plasma content.