Solar mission countdown to start today: ISRO chief

CHENNAI: ISRO chairman S Somanath said the countdown for the launch of the country’s ambitious solar mission, Aditya-L1, would start on Friday. The mission is scheduled to be launched on September 2 at 11.50 am from the Sriharikota spaceport. “We are just getting ready for the launch. The rocket and satellite are ready. We completed the rehearsal for the launch. So tomorrow we have to start the countdown for the day after tomorrow launch,” Somanath told reporters here.

Research gadget makes 1st study of plasma on Moon’s south pole

The initial assessment of the first-ever measurements of the near-surface lunar plasma environment over the south pole region by RAMBHA-LP payload onboard Chandrayaan-3 lander indicates that plasma there is relatively sparse, ISRO said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the ILSA payload on Chandrayaan 3 lander to study lunar seismic activity has not only recorded the movements of rover and other payloads, but also has recorded an event, appearing to be a natural one, on August 26.

“The source of this event is under investigation,” ISRO said. “Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere - Langmuir Probe (RAMBHA-LP) payload onboard Chandrayaan-3 Lander has made first-ever measurements of the near-surface Lunar plasma environment over the south polar region.

The initial assessment indicates that the plasma near the lunar surface is relatively sparse,” ISRO said.

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 said.

Another instrument onboard the rover ‘Pragyan’ has confirmed the presence of Sulphur (S) in the Lunar region, through a different technique, ISRO said.

The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectroscope (APXS) has detected S, as well as other minor elements.

ISRO released a video showing an automated hinge mechanism rotating the 18 cm tall APXS, aligning the detector head to be approximately 5 cm in proximity to the lunar surface.

APXS instrument is best suited for in-situ analysis of the elemental composition of soil and rocks on the surface of planetary bodies, an ISRO statement said.

APXS observations have discovered the presence of interesting minor elements, including Sulphur, apart from the major expected elements such as Aluminium, Silicon, Calcium and Iron.

The Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument onboard the rover has already confirmed the presence of Sulphur. Detailed scientific analysis of these observations are in progress.