At around 6:04 PM IST on 23rd August, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scripted history by demonstrating soft-landing capabilities on the lunar surface. Evidently, the moment Vikram’s lander touched the lunar south pole, India became the first nation to achieve this momentous feat. Now, almost two months after the momentous success, another untold success related to Chandrayaan-3 has come to the fore.
Conspicuously, the propulsion module in the lunar mission which has been orbiting the Moon is powered by nuclear technology, the Times of India reported on 31st October (Tuesday).
Speaking to TOI on Monday (30th October), Atomic Energy Commission chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty confirmed this scientific achievement. Mohanty said that he is happy that India’s nuclear sector could become a part of such an important space mission.
The propulsion module is equipped with two radioisotope heating units (RHU) that are designed and developed by BARC, ISRO officials were quoted as saying by TOI. This cooperation reportedly makes it the first major joint project of ISRO and BARC.
These two RHUs generate one watte and keep the spacecraft at their operational temperatures.
Earlier on Sunday (29th October), Chandrayaan 3 project director P Veeramuthuvel asserted that ISRO may soon use nuclear resources to maintain instruments in future rovers.
However, the ISRO officials emphasised that the RHUs could not be installed on Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram lander and Pragyan rover because it would have increased their mass. Whereas, the RHUs were installed in the propulsion module for the purpose of experimentation and demonstration. An official said, “They have been functioning flawlessly. It’s the first major joint project of ISRO and BARC.”
Earlier spacecraft that have used RHUs include NASA’s Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter, Cassini spacecraft to Saturn, and Voyagers aircrafts 1 and 3.
Meanwhile, during the course of its operation, the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover conducted several scientific experiments and confirmed the presence of Sulphur (S) on the lunar surface near the south pole. ISRO also found traces of various elements that were anticipated to be present on the lunar surface including Aluminum (Al), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), Titanium (Ti), Manganese (Mn), Silicon (Si), and Oxygen (O).
Prior to that, ISRO shared some high-quality images of the lunar surface from the navigational camera. The space agency revealed that it successfully navigated a massive 4-metre diameter crater which was located on the earlier path of Pragyan rover.
Additionally, ISRO added another historic feat when it shared the first-ever temperature profile of the lunar south pole. Back then, the Space Agency shared that temperature sharply changes at various depths highlighting that the temperature difference could be as high as 10°C in a meager depth of 2 cm.
Interestingly, on 4th September, ISRO announced that Vikram Lander exceeded its mission objectives as it successfully performed the ‘hop’ experiment. In the experiment, it landed again on the moon’s surface after elevating itself by 40 centimetres and travelling to another location nearby.