Big update on Chandrayaan-3: ISRO says this about Pragyan rover...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced significant findings from the Chandrayaan-3 rover. The Pragyan rover has sent back crucial information regarding its exploration near the Shiv Shakti Point on the Moon. The Pragyan rover has made several important discoveries related to lunar rock fragments and their origins. It observed small rock fragments around the rims of craters, wall slopes, and floors at the landing site. The rover has covered approximately 103 meters on the lunar surface in one lunar day.

These findings are a major step in lunar exploration as they support previous studies suggesting that rock fragments gradually thicken deeper within the lunar regolith. The 27-kilogram Pragyan rover, transported to the Moon inside the Vikram lander, was equipped with cameras and instruments to analyze the lunar soil. It also carried the ISRO logo and the Indian tricolor flag to the lunar surface.

According to the findings, as the Pragyan rover traveled about 39 metres west of the landing site, Shiv Shakti Point, it encountered an increase in the number and size of rock fragments. It is suggested that a crater with a diameter of about 10 meters could be a potential source of these rock fragments. This hypothesis was presented earlier this year at an international conference on planets, exoplanets, and habitability in Ahmedabad. The research indicated that as the rover moved 39 meters from Shiv Shakti Point, it found larger rock fragments.

The rock fragments discovered by Pragyan on the Moon range from 1 centimetre to approximately 11.5 centimeters in length. These fragments were scattered around the edges of small craters, slopes, and surfaces. However, none of the fragments exceeded 2 meters in length. Recently, ISRO Chairman S Somanath mentioned that their next lunar mission, Chandrayaan-4, will bring back lunar samples from the 'Shiv Shakti' point to Earth.