Chandrayaan-3’s Lander records natural event on moon’s surface, says ISRO

The Instrument of Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) payload on Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Vikram recorded an unexplained natural event on the Moon’s surface on August 26. The space agency is currently conducting an investigation to determine the source of this lunar phenomenon.

The primary mission of ILSA is to monitor ground vibrations caused by natural moonquakes, impacts, and artificial events. On August 25, it also detected and recorded vibrations produced by the rover’s movements on the lunar surface. A revealing acceleration-time graph illustrates how ILSA responded to the rover’s motion.

ILSA is equipped with a cluster of six highly sensitive accelerometers, which are devices designed to measure the vibrations or acceleration of structures. The graph clearly displays the rover’s movement phase, shedding light on the activities taking place on the moon’s surface.

An important milestone is that ILSA represents the first deployment of Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology-based instruments on the moon. MEMS is a technology used to create tiny integrated devices that combine both mechanical and electrical components.

The core sensing component of ILSA consists of a spring-mass system with comb-structured electrodes. When external vibrations occur, they cause the spring to deflect, resulting in a change in capacitance, which is then converted into voltage for measurement.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
In-situ Scientific Experiments

Instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) payload on Chandrayaan 3 Lander
— the first Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology-based instrument on the moon —
has recorded the movements of Rover and other… pic.twitter.com/Sjd5K14hPl

— ISRO (@isro) August 31, 2023

Furthermore, the Pragyaan rover, during its historic first-ever on-site exploration of the moon’s south polar region, confirmed the presence of sulphur in the area. This significant discovery was made through in-situ measurements, which were not feasible with the instruments aboard the orbiters.

Additionally, the presence of oxygen, calcium, and iron has been detected, with an ongoing search for hydrogen.

On August 23, India made history by achieving a soft landing near the moon’s south pole, becoming the fourth country in the world, after Russia, the US, and China, to successfully land on the lunar surface.