First Photo: Rover Pragyan Rolls Out Of Chandrayaan-3 Lander Near Moon's South Pole

Pragyan, the Chandrayaan-3 rover sitting in the lander's (Vikram) belly, has been rolled out onto the lunar surface hours. The rover came out after the lunar dust had settled down completely.

The rover's rear wheels, known as Pragyan, will etch impressions of the ISRO logo and the national emblem - the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath - onto the lunar surface. This symbolic act signifies India's indelible presence on the Moon.

The lander and rover are anticipated to function for one lunar day, roughly equivalent to 14 Earth days, to conduct observations of the lunar surroundings. However, the possibility of them reactivating for another lunar day is not ruled out by ISRO officials.

Data collected by the rover will be transmitted from its location to the lander, which will then relay the information to the space agency ISRO.

However, launching the rover was a delayed process due to a specific reason. The rover couldn't be launched until the dust raised by the landing of the Vikram lander had cleared. This was a result of the moon's much lower gravity compared to Earth's, causing dust to behave differently than it would on our planet.

There were fears that if the rover was deployed prior to the dispersion of dust, it might cause harm to the rover's cameras and other delicate instruments.

"The rover will come out in a few hours. Sometimes it takes a day also... Once the rover comes out, it will do two experiments," the ISRO Chief told reporters. "We are looking at a very exciting time after Pragyan's entry... It will do experiments for 14 days," he added.

The Moon's south pole is an area of particular interest due to the potential presence of water in regions that are always in shadow. Chandrayaan-3 is equipped with four scientific instruments to investigate moonquakes, the thermal conductivity of the lunar surface, the plasma environment surrounding the Moon, and the precise Earth-Moon distance.

According to ISRO, Lander and the Rover have five scientific payloads which have been placed inside the Lander Module (LM). Rover's Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will be used to derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition to further enhance the understanding of the lunar surface, PTI reported.

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) will determine the elemental composition of the lunar soil and rocks around the Moon's landing site. The deployment of Rover to carry out in-situ scientific experiments would scale new heights in lunar expeditions, ISRO said.

The Mission life of both Lander and Rover is 1 Lunar Day each, which is equal to 14 Earth days. The Lander Payloads are RAMBHA-LP (Langmuir Probe), to measure the near surface plasma (ions and electrons) density and its changes with time ChaSTE Chandra's Surface Thermo Physical Experiment will carry out the measurements of thermal properties of lunar surface near polar region.

According to ISRO, Lander and the Rover have five scientific payloads which have been placed inside the Lander Module (LM). Rover's Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) will be used to derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition to further enhance the understanding of the lunar surface, PTI reported.

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) will determine the elemental composition of the lunar soil and rocks around the Moon's landing site. The deployment of Rover to carry out in-situ scientific experiments would scale new heights in lunar expeditions, ISRO said.

The Mission life of both Lander and Rover is 1 Lunar Day each, which is equal to 14 Earth days. The Lander Payloads are RAMBHA-LP (Langmuir Probe), to measure the near surface plasma (ions and electrons) density and its changes with time ChaSTE Chandra's Surface Thermo Physical Experiment will carry out the measurements of thermal properties of lunar surface near polar region.

The Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) will measure the seismicity around the landing site and delineating the structure of the lunar crust and mantle.

India on Wednesday scripted history as ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) touched down on the lunar surface, making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat, and first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite.