ISRO has released the measurements of near-surface Lunar plasma environment near the Moon's South Pole using the RAMBHA-LP instrument of the Vikram lander

ISRO has released the first-ever measurements of the near-surface Lunar plasma environment near the Moon's South Pole. This data was gathered by the Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere - Langmuir Probe (RAMBHA-LP) payload onboard Chandrayaan-3 Lander Vikram.

"The initial assessment indicates that the plasma near the lunar surface is relatively sparse. These quantitative measurements potentially assist in mitigating the noise that Lunar plasma introduces into radio wave communication. Also, they could contribute to the enhanced designs for upcoming lunar visitors," ISRO posted on X.

The RAMBHA-LP payload is designed to measure the plasma density (the density of ions and electrons) near the Moon's surface and how it changes over time. In an official statement, ISRO underscored that the data gathered by Vikram pertains to the early stages of the lunar daytime and the payload's objective is to take uninterrupted measurements throughout the day.

"These ongoing observations hold significant implications for comprehending the process of charging within the lunar near-surface region, particularly in response to the fluctuations in solar space weather conditions," ISRO said.

Chandrayaan-3's Findings On The Moon

Ever since the Chandrayaan-3 mission (Vikram lander and Pragyan rover) landed on the lunar South Pole on August 23, ISRO has taken thermal measurements of the lunar soil and confirmed the presence of elements like Sulphur, Iron, Oxygen and Calcium. The Chandrayaan-3 mission launched on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota with the objective of exploring the lunar South Pole for 14 Earth days starting from the day of landing.

Using the lander's ChaSTE instrument, ISRO discovered that the temperature on the lunar South Pole during the day ranges from more than 50°C to -10°C just 8 cm below the soil. The Pragyan rover's Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS), on the other hand, discovered more than half a dozen elements and the search for Hydrogen is underway, ISRO said. Another instrument aboard the rover Alpha Particle X-ray Spectroscope (APXS) also confirmed the presence of Sulphur, bolstering the efforts to understand the source of the element.

The Vikram lander is also equipped with the Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) which will be used to measure seismic properties of the Moon in the coming days. Vikram is also carrying a LASER Retroreflector Array (LRA) built by NASA to measure distances between the Earth and the Moon.