Chandrayaan-3 Lander Ejected 2 Tonnes Of Moon Soil, Generated Spectacular 'Ejecta Halo': ISRO

ISRO has said that Chandrayaan-3's lander module blew off over 2 tonnes of Moon soli and formed a "spectacular" 'ejecta halo' on the lunar surface.

Images of India's third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3. ( Image Source :PTI )

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday said the Vikram lander module of India's third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, blew off over 2 tonnes of Moon soil (lunar epiregolith) and generated a "spectacular ejecta halo". The space agency said the lander displaced over an area of 108.4 square metres around the landing site. Sharing the results of Chandrayaan-3 on X, formerly Twitter, ISRO said it estimates approximately 2.06 tonnes of lunar epiregolith were ejected due to the landing event.

"On August 23, 2023, as it descended, the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module generated a spectacular 'ejecta halo' of lunar material. Scientists from NRSC/ISRO estimate that about 2.06 tonnes of lunar epiregolith were ejected and displaced over an area of 108.4 m² around the landing site," it said in the post an shared the link of a document with the details.

Chandrayaan-3 Results:
On August 23, 2023, as it descended, the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module generated a spectacular 'ejecta halo' of lunar material.

Scientists from NRSC/ISRO estimate that about 2.06 tonnes of lunar epiregolith were ejected and displaced over an area of 108.4 m²…

— ISRO (@isro) October 27, 2023

It said the Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan-3 mission landed near the south pole of the Moon on August 23rd, 2023 and during the action of the descent stage, thrusters and the consequent landing, a significant amount of lunar surficial epiregolith material got ejected, resulting in a reflectance anomaly or ‘ejecta halo’.

ISRO said it compared the pre- and post-landing high-resolution panchromatic imagery from Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC) of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, acquired hours before and after the landing event and characterised this ‘ejecta halo’. Notably, 'halo' appears as an irregular bright patch surrounding the lander.

"From the mapped and classified, uncorrelated ‘ejecta halo’ pixels, an approximate areal extent of 108.4 m2 is estimated to have been covered by lunar epiregolith ejecta displaced due to the landing sequence of the Vikram lander. Further, using empirical relations, we estimate that approximately 2.06 tonnes of lunar epiregolith were ejected due to the landing event," the Indian space agency said.