Chandrayaan-3 mission updates: Rover traversed 8 meters on moon, says ISRO

Chandrayaan-3's rover 'Pragyan' has traversed a distance of about eight metres on the moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Friday, in its latest updates on the mission.

"All planned rover movements have been verified. The rover has successfully traversed a distance of about 8 meters," ISRO tweeted, adding, "Rover payloads LIBS and APXS are turned on."

The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) is aiming at deriving the chemical composition and infer the mineralogical composition of the lunar surface. The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) will attempt to determine the elemental composition (Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe) of lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site.

All payloads on the propulsion module, lander module, and rover are performing nominally, ISRO said.

Earlier in the day, the space organisation explained how the rover rolled down on to the moon's surface. "A two-segment ramp facilitated the roll-down of the rover. A solar panel enabled the rover to generate power," ISRO tweeted, sharing a video of the roll-out.

The space agency had also released the image of 'Vikram' taken by Chandrayaan-2's Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) after the lander module soft landed on the lunar surface.

The Vikram lander with Pragyan rover in its belly touched down on the moon's surface "well within the area" identified for the purpose on Wednesday. A few hours after the landing, the 26-kg six-wheeled rover rolled out from the lander's belly.