India’s arrival on the moon opens new perspectives for scientific research. Recently, the Chandrayaan-3 mission detected possible signs of seismic activity at the satellite’s south pole.
If the initial data are confirmed, it would be an important starting point for understanding what exists inside the moon.
The signals were recorded by the Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) on the Vikram lunar lander.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
In-situ Scientific ExperimentsInstrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) payload on Chandrayaan 3 Lander
— the first Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology-based instrument on the moon —
has recorded the movements of Rover and other… pic.twitter.com/Sjd5K14hPl— ISRO (@isro) August 31, 2023
India’s aerospace agency (ISRO) said the instrument was able to record seismic sounds on the Pragyan rover, which is located on the lunar surface.
“On August 26, 2023, an apparently natural event was recorded. The source of this event is under investigation,” ISRO said in a statement.
“The primary objective of ILSA is to measure ground vibrations generated by natural earthquakes, impacts, and man-made events,” the agency noted. “The vibrations recorded during the rover’s navigation are shown in the figure.”
India reached the moon on August 23, becoming the fourth country to do so successfully and the first to do so at the south pole of the natural satellite. The United States, the Soviet Union, and China preceded the Indians.
Both the Vikram module and the Pragyan rover were immediately working on the surface, collecting data, but are currently in sleep mode.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/metroworldnews/TNZ65C3VQFG3HHWSCIBXDI5ESI.jpeg "India Has Detected Possible Signs Of Seismic Activity")
In the area where they are located, there is a night that lasts 14 Earth days, and if the devices work on solar energy, they have to wait to be recharged. According to the specialist portal Science Alert, they will be active again on September 22nd.
ISRO, whose origins date back to the 1960s, hopes to explore not only the Moon but also Mars and other areas of space in the future.
