Chandrayaan-3 mission: What caused Vikram Lander to create 'ejecta halo'

Know what the recent Chandrayaan-3 mission revealed about the Vikram lander landing event on August 23, 2023, that led to the fascinating 'ejecta halo'

Chandrayaan-3 mission landing craft, the Vikram Lander, landed on the lunar surface on August 23, which was a historic success for India and ISRO.

Now, experts revealed that the Vikram Lander landing actually created a huge dust storm on the lunar surface which itself created an “ejecta halo” of the Moon dust that was blown up into the air.

Ejecta is the lunar soil and rock that is ejected from a crater when a meteorite or asteroid collides with the Moon's surface.

But the question might arrive in your mind that how Vikram lander and create a crater while landing on the lunar south pole. Well, Vikram Lander landed there with its rockets firing.

During the landing, the lander stayed a few meters above the lunar ground and due to its thrusters, a huge amount of epiregolith ejected which created an ejecta halo pattern.

As per reports, a whopping 2.06 tonnes of lunar epiregolith was removed from the moon’s surface while landing 

With the help of high-resolution panchromatic imagery obtained from the Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC) on the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, the scientist revealed that the ejecta estimated area is about 108.4 square meters.

This discovery signifies the behaviour of lunar material and how the landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission impacted the lunar soil.

The creation of the ejecta halo at the Shiv Shakti Point will help scientists understand more about the lunar surface and its characteristics. 

Now, ISRO is waiting for the revival of Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to begin the new phase of Chandrayaan-3 mission. However, sadly, that will likely not happen as weeks have passed and ISRO could not revive them.