"NASA's Spacecrafts successfully contact with India's Chandrayaan-3 on Moon"

NASA's spacecraft has successfully made contact with India's Chandrayaan-3 lander on the Moon,  significant milestone.

ISRO Chandrayaan-3

Chandrayaan-3 on Moon

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has achieved a remarkable feat by successfully establishing contact with India's Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander on the lunar surface. Discover the intricacies of this groundbreaking experiment, its profound implications, and the diverse range of applications for retroreflectors.

On December 12, 2023, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) achieved a significant milestone by successfully establishing communication with India's Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander on the Moon's surface. This breakthrough experiment conducted by NASA marks the beginning of a new era in accurately locating targets on the lunar terrain.

The process involved transmitting a laser beam from the LRO in orbit, which was then reflected back by a small device on the Vikram lander. This seemingly straightforward action holds immense importance for the future of lunar exploration.

Traditionally, tracking the position of Earth-orbiting satellites from the ground is accomplished by directing laser pulses towards the object and measuring the time it takes for the light to return. However, NASA has now demonstrated the reverse application of this technique, where laser pulses are sent from a moving spacecraft to a stationary one to precisely determine its location. This innovative approach has numerous potential applications on the Moon, as explained by scientists.

As a result of this achievement, NASA's Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) installed on the Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander has become a crucial reference point near the lunar south pole. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has confirmed that NASA's LRA will continue to serve as a long-term geodetic station and a location marker on the lunar surface, benefiting both ongoing and future lunar missions.

How was NASA able to ping Chandrayaan-3's Lander using a Retroreflector?

Xiaoli Sun, the leader of the team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which developed the retroreflector on Vikram in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), stated that they have successfully demonstrated the ability to locate the retroreflector on the Moon's surface from the Moon's orbit. The experiment took place on December 12, 2023, at 1:30 am Indian Standard Time (3 pm EST). According to NASA's press release, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) directed its laser altimeter instrument towards the Vikram lander. Positioned approximately 62 miles (100 kilometers) away from the LRO, near the Manzinus crater in the Moon's South Pole region, the lander received laser pulses transmitted by the orbiter. Upon detecting the reflected light from the NASA retroreflector on Vikram, the scientists at NASA confirmed the success of their technique.

NASA's Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA), a retroreflector with eight quartz-corner-cube prisms embedded in a dome-shaped aluminum frame, measures a mere 2 inches or 5 centimeters in width. This compact device is not only simple and durable but also requires no power or maintenance. Remarkably, it can endure for several decades. The unique design of the retroreflector enables it to reflect light from any direction back to its origin, as stated by NASA.