ISRO’s ChaSTE Payload Reveals Lunar Surface Temperature Variations

• ByStartupStory     |    August 28, 2023

On August 27, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) unveiled a temperature-depth graph depicting variations on the lunar surface. This data was collected by the ChaSTE payload aboard Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander module. ChaSTE, or Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment, was designed to assess the thermal behavior of the Moon’s surface by measuring the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around its south pole.

Here are the first observations from the ChaSTE payload onboard Vikram Lander. ChaSTE measures the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the pole, to understand the thermal behavior of the moon’s surface,” ISRO said in an update on ‘X’, formerly Twitter.

“The probe is fitted with 10 individual temperature sensors. The presented graph illustrates the temperature variations of the lunar surface/near-surface at various depths, as recorded during the probe’s penetration. This is the first such profile for the lunar south pole. Detailed observations are underway,” it said.

The development and execution of the ChaSTE payload were orchestrated by a team led by the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) of ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), in collaboration with the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad.

Recently, India made history as ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) successfully landed on the lunar surface, securing India’s place as the fourth nation to achieve this milestone and the first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth’s natural satellite.

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