ISRO Releases Graph Of Temperature Variation Of Topsoil In Lunar South Pole

Relevance: GS3 - Space Technology; Prelims

(Source: The Hindu, 08/28/2023)

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Why in the news?

• India on August 23rd, 2023 scripted history as ISRO’s ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) touched down on the lunar surface.
• India became the fourth country to successfully complete a landing on the moon and the first country to land on the south pole of the moon.
• Recently, ISRO unveiled a temperature-depth graph of the lunar surface, generated using data from the ChaSTE instrument, one of the payloads onboard Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander module.
• The payload attached to the lander recorded the variation of temperature on the lunar surface with an increase in depth.

What are the observations?

• The presented graph illustrates the temperature variations of the lunar surface/near-surface at various depths.
• The temperature on the moon is not constant, but rather varies near the surface and on the lunar surface, as recorded by the Vikram lander module.
• It was found that at a depth of 8 cm, the temperature was as low as (-) 10 degrees centigrade. With the gradual rise towards the surface, the temperature too could be seen rising.
• Above the surface, the graph showed a relative stagnancy in temperature between 50-60 degrees centigrade.
• This is the first such profile for the lunar south pole.

About ChaSTE Payload

• Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) payload was attached to measure the thermal conductivity and temperature on the moon.
• ChaSTE measures the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole, to understand the thermal behaviour of the moon’s surface.
• Temperature Probe: It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of reaching a depth of 10 cm beneath the surface. The probe is fitted with 10 individual temperature sensors.
• Developed by:
  • The payload was developed by a team led by the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL), VSSC in collaboration with Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad.
• Objective:
  • The primary objective of ChaSTE is to perform in-situ measurements of thermal conductivity and temperature profile on the lunar surface to derive the vertical temperature gradient up to a depth of 100 mm at the site of landing.
  • It provides thermophysical properties of a high latitude region on the Moon for the first time.

ISRO's Aditya-L1 Mission India’s mission to study the sun, Aditya-L1 is estimated to be launched in the first week of September. The mission's Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA) payload, developed by SPL, will analyze the solar wind's composition, including electron energy, proton and ion energy/mass, and angular variations. Aditya-L1 is India's first sun-focused space mission, positioned at the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the sun-Earth system. PAPA, weighing around 8 kg, is one of seven payloads on the spacecraft. The launch will use a PSLV XL variant, and the mission will take 125 days to reach L1.

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FAQs

MCQ

Question: In the context of space technology, what is “Bhuvan”, recently in the news? (UPSC 2010)

(a) A mini satellite launched by ISRO for promoting the distance education in India

(b) The name given to the next Moon Impact Probe, for Chandrayaan-II

(c) A geoportal of ISRO with 3D imaging capabilities of India

(d) A space telescope developed by India