Desk: India’s Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed on the Shiv Shakti Point of the Moon in 2023. Now, scientists have revealed that the surface of the Moon’s south pole region, where the lander touched down, is approximately 3.7 billion years old. This discovery was made using high-resolution remote sensing datasets, analyzed by a research team comprising experts from ISRO’s Electro-Optics System Centre (Bengaluru), the Physical Research Laboratory (Ahmedabad), and Punjab University (Chandigarh). These scientists mapped the Shiv Shakti Point to understand its geological characteristics.
Three Geological Sections of the Landing Site
According to the study, the Chandrayaan-3 landing site can be classified into three geological sections:
- High-relief rugged area
- Smooth plains
- Low-relief smooth plains
This information was published in a research paper in the Science Direct journal, where scientists estimated that the landing site is 3.7 billion years old. Interestingly, this timeframe coincides with the emergence of Earth’s earliest microbial life.
How Scientists Determined the Age of Shiv Shakti Point
As per the report, the study involved data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), utilizing its Wide-Angle Camera and Terrain Camera. Scientists analyzed 25 craters (ranging from 500 to 1,150 meters in diameter) to determine the estimated age of the landing site. ISRO experts noted that the Moon’s surface constantly changes due to micrometeorite bombardments and extreme temperature fluctuations. Over millions of years, these rocks have broken down into regolith (lunar soil).
Significance of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission
This revelation comes at a time when India is preparing for its Chandrayaan-4 mission, scheduled for launch in 2027. The primary objective of Chandrayaan-4 will be to collect lunar rock samples and bring them back to Earth.
Chandrayaan-3 was India’s third lunar exploration mission and the first to land near the Moon’s south pole. Launched on July 14, 2023, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (Sriharikota), the Vikram Lander successfully achieved a soft landing on August 23, 2023.
Notably, Chandrayaan-3 had a budget of ₹600 crore ($73 million), whereas other countries have spent billions of dollars on their lunar missions, making India’s achievement a remarkable feat in cost-effective space exploration.