On Sunday, ISRO released a graph of temperature variations on the lunar surface measured by Chandrayaan-3’s payload. The ISRO officially shared the image of the graph on its Twitter handle.
According to ISRO reports, ChaSTE measured the temperature profile of lunar topsoil around the pole to understand the thermal behavior of the moon’s surface.
The graph shows the temperature variations of the moon’s surface/near-surface at various depths measured by the probe during its penetration. This is the first time a profile of the lunar south pole has been created.
ISRO scientist B H M Darukesha told PTI about the graphic illustration: “We all believed that the temperature could be somewhere around 20 degrees centigrade to 30 degrees centigrade on the surface, but it is 70 degrees centigrade. This is surprisingly higher than what we had expected.”
According to the space agency, the payload includes a temperature probe with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of reaching a depth of 10 cm below the surface.
The payload is developed by a team led by the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), in collaboration with the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad.
Graph of temperature variations on the lunar surface:
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
Here are the first observations from the ChaSTE payload onboard Vikram Lander.ChaSTE (Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment) measures the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole, to understand the thermal behaviour of the moon's… pic.twitter.com/VZ1cjWHTnd
— ISRO (@isro) August 27, 2023
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