India's moon mission sends back temperature profile data of south pole

A payload onboard the Lander of India's Moon Mission-3, or Chandrayaan-3, has sent back its first observations about the temperature profile of the south pole of the lunar surface, said the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Sunday, reported Xinhua.

The payload, called ChaSTE (Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment), measures the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the south pole, in order to understand the thermal behavior of the Moon's surface, it added.

Chandra is the Hindi word for Moon.

"It has a temperature probe equipped with a controlled penetration mechanism capable of reaching a depth of 10 centimetres beneath the surface. The probe is fitted with 10 individual temperature sensors," said the ISRO in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

It added, "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."

The development came four days after India's Moon Mission-3 successfully landed on the lunar surface on Aug. 23.