Now, while the lunar missions launched by ISRO keep coming out with new findings, the last one confirms the presence of an enormous crater that is 160km in width and older than South Pole-Aitken basin, until now regarded as the oldest and largest impact basin on the moon. That finds was confirmed after dissecting data recorded by the Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Besides, the finding highlights the value of Chandrayaan-3 in better illumination of the moon’s geological aspects.
Pragyan Rover Uncovers Older CraterThe study was done using the data obtained by both Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, which successfully accomplished their primary mission on September 3, 2023. After that, they were put into sleep mode. A paper published by scientists working at Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, led by Dr. S. Vijayan, “Chandrayaan-3 landing site evolution by South Pole-Aitken basin and other impact craters”, suggests that the Chandrayaan-3 site was located inside a previously buried crater. The age of this probable old buried crater is considered to be significantly older than the SPA basin itself, which happens to be some 350 km away from the rim of the SPA basin.
A CLOSE LOOK AT THE LANDING SITEISRO was able to capture images of a heavily degraded semi-circular structure around the landing site with the navigation camera and a high-resolution optical camera mounted on the Pragyan rover. This one is now considered as one of the oldest features on the lunar surface. The scientists describe how this ancient crater is covered with materials coming from ejecta from SPA basin and 11 other impact basins surrounding it.
The results were letting scientists learn a lot about the history of the moon and would indeed help with future lunar exploration, such as Chandrayaan-4 in 2027. Prof. Anil Bhardwaj, JC Bose Fellow and Director at PRL, in a post, referenced this with credit to Dr. S. Vijayan and his team for pioneering research.
