‘Image of the mission’: Rover Pragyan clicks Vikram standing tall on the Moon

The Pragyan rover, part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, has captured an image of the Vikram lander standing firm on the surface of the Moon.

The image, hailed as the 'image of the mission', was taken by the Navigation Camera onboard the Rover (NavCam).

The NavCams, crucial to the mission's success, were developed by the Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS) in Bengaluru.

These cameras serve as the 'eyes' of the rover, guiding it as it traverses the challenging lunar terrain. They play a pivotal role in path planning and obstacle avoidance, ensuring the rover's safe navigation on the Moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission, launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has been making significant strides since its successful landing on the Moon's surface on August 23, 2023. The mission marked India as only the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface.

The Pragyan rover and the Vikram lander have been working in tandem to gather valuable scientific data. The rover is equipped with two payloads, the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS), designed to analyze the elemental and mineralogical composition of the lunar soil and rocks.

The image of the Vikram lander, captured by the Pragyan rover, marks a significant milestone in the mission. It not only showcases the successful collaboration between the rover and the lander but also highlights the technological prowess of the LEOS-developed NavCams.

As the mission continues, more such images and data are expected to shed light on the unexplored aspects of the lunar surface, contributing to our understanding of the Moon.