What is the Surface Temperature at the South Pole of the Moon? Chandrayaan-3 from India Reveals Temperature and Discoveries from Lunar South Exploration.

It was a historic moment on the 23rd of last month when India's lunar probe, Chandrayaan-3, successfully landed on the lunar South Pole, opening a new chapter in lunar exploration.

 

With these developments, Chandrayaan-3 is providing new insights into the lunar surface and temperature through its exploration of the lunar South Pole, offering substantial contributions to the fields of science and space exploration.

 

On the 28th, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced via social media X (formerly Twitter) that the "Chandrayaan Surface Thermal Experiment (ChaSTE) instrument transmitted its first set of observational data," unveiling a steeply rising graph. The ChaSTE device is a temperature-measuring instrument that can penetrate up to 10 cm deep from the lunar South Pole's surface. The probe is equipped with ten individual temperature sensors. The graph represents the temperatures of various lunar regolith materials measured as the probe moved across the lunar surface. This marks the first-ever measurement of the temperature at the lunar South Pole. According to ISRO, the lunar South Pole soil temperature registered at minus 10 degrees Celsius at a depth of 8 cm below the surface. In contrast, the lunar surface temperature was measured at around 50 degrees Celsius, higher than anticipated.

 

Chandrayaan-3 consists of the lander "Vikram" and the propulsion module. From Vikram, the rover "Pragyan" has disembarked to explore the lunar surface. Both Vikram and Pragyan are capturing images of the lunar South Pole. During its planned 14-day mission, Pragyan will explore the lunar surface. Space.com reported, "Just four days after landing on the Moon, Pragyan encountered a hazardous fissure. This incident underscores the challenges of lunar South Pole exploration and the significance of Chandrayaan-3's landing."

 

ISRO has also released recent close-up photos of the Moon and images of fissures taken during Pragyan's movement. ISRO Chairman S. Somanath emphasized in a press conference, "These images are valuable assets, and such information is not available anywhere else in the world."

 

With these developments, Chandrayaan-3 is providing new insights into the lunar surface and temperature through its exploration of the lunar South Pole, offering substantial contributions to the fields of science and space exploration.