ISRO Chief S Somnath reveals why India chose Moon’s South Pole for Chandrayaan-3 soft-landing

The challenges posed by the lunar south pole are formidable, with treacherous terrains and freezing temperatures. The region's permanently shadowed craters have not seen sunlight for millions of years. Previous attempts by various nations, including Israel's Beresheet spacecraft in April 2019, India's Chandrayaan-2 in September 2019, and Russia's Lula 25 in August 2023, to land on the South Pole have all met with failure.

The allure of the exploration of the lunar south pole stems from its potential as a reservoir of invaluable resources. Scientists believe that water ice lies within the shadowed craters, a discovery with profound implications for future space exploration. This water could be harnessed to generate drinking water, oxygen and hydrogen for rocket fuel.

The region's extremely low temperatures could also preserve substances, offering insights into the early solar system and potentially harbouring volatile compounds like methane and ammonia for future human exploration.

Additionally, the lunar south pole hosts the colossal South Pole-Aitken Basin, the moon's largest impact basin. Analysing this feature could unravel the moon's origins and evolution.

Moreover, this region holds significance for radio astronomy, as the area below 30 MHz on the electromagnetic spectrum remains largely unexplored due to terrestrial radio interference. The lunar south pole, especially around Malapert Mountain on the far side, holds promise as a potential site for radio astronomy.

The Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3, having accomplished the historic landing, will now embark on a series of scientific operations on the lunar surface. Instruments like the chaSTE payload, ILSA payload, Langmuir Probe (LP), and Pragyan Rover will conduct a range of experiments. These include measuring thermal conductivity, seismicity, near-surface plasma density, and mineral composition of the lunar surface. The planned operational span of the lander and rover is one lunar day, equivalent to approximately 14 earth days.