Chandrayaan 3: Vikram lander detects Natural Seismic Movement on the moon

Moon Quake - Quake on moon - Chandrayaan 3's seismic probe detects natural movement. Natural event on the moon by Vikram Lander probe - Source under Investigation.

Chandrayaan 3's Vikram Lander which is conducting experiments on the lunar surface has detected a natural seismic event on the moon, ISRO said. ISRO said that the seismic activity detecting equipment on the Chandrayaan 3 lander also managed to record the vibrations taking place due to the movements of missions Pragyan rover and other Payloads.

Which instrument detected it?

ISRO said that the instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity Instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) Payload on Chandrayaan 3 lander.

Which is the first Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology based instrument on the moon has recorded the movements of Rover and other Payloads.

The lander has 4 experiments on the board

i) The Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) will study the electrons and ions near the surface of the moon and how they change over time.

ii) The Chandrayaan's surface thermophysical experiment (CHASTE) will study the thermal properties of the lunar surface near the polar region. Chandrayaan 3 has landed around 70 degree South Latitude the closest that any space craft has reached the lunar South Pole.

iii)  The Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) will measure the Lunar Quakes near the landing site and study the composition of the Moon's Crust and Mantle. The LASER Retrofector Array (LRA) is a passive experiment sent by NASA that acts a target for LASERs for very accurate measurements for future missions.

Which instrument detected it?

ISRO said that the Instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) Payload on Chandrayaan 3 Lander which is the first Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology based instrument on the moon has recorded the movement of Rover and other Payloads.

Chandrayaan 3 mission:

Objectives:

The mission's main objective are - 

i) to demonstrate safe and soft landibng on the lunar surface.

ii) to demonstrate rover roving on the moon and 

iii) to conduct (in-situ) on-site scientific experiments. It also aims to develop and demonstrate new technologies required for interplanetary missions. The success of the emission will make   Chandrayaan-3 the world's first mission to soft land near the lunar South Pole and India is the fourth country to soft land on the moon. 

How the Instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) works?

Instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) comprises a cluster of 6 high sensitivity accelerators which are indigenously fabricated using the silicon micro machining process. the core sensing element consists of a spring mass system with combo structured electrodes. External vibrations lead to deflecting of the spring resulting in a change in capacitance which is converted into voltage. The Instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) was designned and released at LEOS - Labaratory for Electro Optics System one of the vital units of ISRO deals with the design, development and production of sensors for all LEO, GEO and inter-planetary missions, develops and delivers Optical Systems for Remote Sensing and Meteorological Payloads. The deployment mechanisms for placing Instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) on the Lunar Surface was developed by USRC - UR Rao Satellite Centre.

Significance - Earth is not the only place in our solar systen that experiences the seismic activity. Both Mars and the Moon also experiences Quakes although for different reasons than here on earth. The study allows researchers to probe the interiors of both these distant worlds.

Moon Quakes:

Moon Quakes as they are known on the moon are produced as a result of meteoroids hitting the surface or by the gravitational pull of the Earth squeezng and stretching the Moon's interior in a similar way to the Moon's tidal pull on Earth's oceans. As the lunar interior cools, it is also causing the other quakes as the crust buckles and brakes.

Heat from the Sun can also produce Thermal Quakes due to the temperature difference in the Lunar Crust as the Moon emerges from its night.

Distance between Earth and Moon, 384,400 kms approx.

Five Seismometers have been deployed on the moon left by astronauts during the Apollo Mission between 1969 to 1972. The first Lunar Seismometer was setup by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Apollo 11 Mission. After deploying the instrument Aldrin stamped on the Lunar Surface to check it was working with the instrument picking up the waves produced by his foot. In space Moon is surrounded by plasma ionised gas, which contains solid matter dust particles.on the Lunar Surface dust particles impacted by solar wind photons, electrons and ions get a positive charge. Their interaction with the positively charged Lunar Surface causes them to rebound, move and make up the dusty plasma.