Exactly one week ago, a special spacecraft from India named Chandrayaan-3 successfully placed a small vehicle called ‘Pragyan’ onto the bottom part of the Moon. This was a big achievement for India’s space organization, ISRO. Now, let’s understand what has happened during this time in simpler words.
August 23: Just after landing on the Moon, ISRO shared pictures taken by the spacecraft’s camera. These pictures showed where Pragyan landed. They also showed one of the vehicle’s legs and its shadow. The spacecraft chose a flat area on the Moon for landing. ISRO also told everyone that they could talk to the spacecraft from a place called Mission Operations Complex in Bengaluru.
August 24: In the morning, ISRO told everyone that the Moon vehicle, Pragyan, came out of the spacecraft and started moving around on the Moon. Everything was going according to the plan, and all the systems were working well. They turned on some tools that were on the spacecraft. ISRO said that Pragyan was moving using its wheels. They also mentioned that another tool on the spacecraft was turned on the day before.
August 25: ISRO released videos showing Pragyan moving on the Moon. They used a special ramp to get Pragyan out of the spacecraft. This ramp helped Pragyan roll down onto the Moon’s surface. Pragyan has a solar panel that gives it power from the Sun. The video showed how they quickly put the ramp and solar panel in place before letting Pragyan roll down. On the same day, ISRO updated that Pragyan had moved about eight meters on the Moon’s surface. All the tools on the spacecraft were working fine.
August 26: ISRO said two out of the three things they wanted to do with this mission were done. The third thing was about doing science experiments right there on the Moon. Everything on the spacecraft was working as planned. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, named the place where another spacecraft landed in 2019. He also said that the day Pragyan landed on the Moon would now be celebrated as ‘National Space Day’.
August 27: ISRO shared a picture that showed the Moon’s temperature changing. They said they were surprised by how hot it was on the Moon. They had a tool onboard, named ChaSTE, that checked the Moon’s temperature. They wanted to understand how hot or cold the Moon’s surface gets.
August 28: ISRO said they were going to send another spacecraft to study the Sun. This spacecraft, called Aditya-L1 Solar Mission, would launch on September 2. They planned to do this from a place called Sriharikota. Also, they shared that Pragyan had a small problem. It found a hole in the ground that was about four meters wide. They told Pragyan to go back and find a new way around it. Now, Pragyan is moving on a different path.
So, in the past week, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission achieved a lot on the Moon. They put Pragyan on the Moon, made it move around, and did some scientific work. They also announced a new mission to study the Sun.