As rover rolls out of lander, ISRO says: 'India has walked on the moon'

According to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India has successfully landed on the moon and even taken a stroll. The rover was released from the lander on Wednesday night, following the historic soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon's south pole at 6:04 pm.

After almost four hours had elapsed, the ramp which could be folded on one side of the lander was opened. The lander, which weighed 26 kg and had six wheels, emerged from it along with two scientific payloads. ISRO released the statement "Lunar Rover Chandrayaan-3: Made in India, Designed for the Moon!".

The landing process, spanning 17 minutes, proceeded in accordance with the predetermined plan. During this phase, the lander relied on its autonomous capabilities to guide itself. Over the course of the descent, it gradually decelerated from its initial speed of 1,680 meters per second to a near complete halt. The lander successfully identified the precise location it was intended to reach, and landed gradually and steadily, a moment that was watched with great anticipation by the nation.

The mission has achieved its soft landing and rover objectives, and the science experiment now has 14 days to run. Since the lander and rover are powered entirely by solar panels, they will stop working when the landing site enters moonlit night. It is unlikely that the electronics on board will survive when the lunar surface temperature plummets to -130 degrees Celsius.

ISRO Chairman Somnath previously said that after that night, the space agency would assess the operability of the lander to see if it could be revived.

India is the fourth country to walk on the moon after the United States, Russia and China. It was the first country to do so near the moon's south pole after a Russian mission that was supposed to land just days before the crash. The Indian prime minister congratulated South Africa.

The Chandrayaan-3 payload will advance the science of its predecessor by studying moonquakes, mineral composition, and electrons and ions near the lunar surface. The mission will attempt to study water ice, whose existence was first confirmed by previous missions.

There are two scientific experiments on the rover. The LASER Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy will determine the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar surface. The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer will determine the composition of elements such as magnesium, aluminum, silicon, potassium, calcium, titanium, and iron in the lunar soil and rocks.