Chandrayaan 3: Rover Pragyaan moves 8 metres, its payloads turned on
Vikram’s payloads were turned on Thursday morning. An image of lander Vikram captured by the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter Pradhan. The picture was released by the official handle of the Chandrayaan 3 mission BENGALURU: A day after rolling down the Chandrayaan 3’s lander Vikram’s ramp and doing its first “moonwalk”, rover Pragyaan’s both payloads were turned on even as it completed a distance of eight metres. Pragyaan was deployed from the lander in the wee hours of Thursday. In a statement on X, ISRO said, “All planned rover movements have been verified. The rover has successfully traversed a distance of about 8 metres. Rover payloads LIBS (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope) and APXS Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer are turned on. All payloads on the propulsion module, lander and rover are performing nominally.” (Sic) The space agency also shared a video on how the ramp on Vikram’s lander facilitated the roll-down for Pragyaan, besides how its solar panel was deployed. “A two-segme...