India's Chandrayaan-2 Moon Probe Just Beamed Back Its 1st Lunar Science

By Meghan Bartels 9 hours ago



An artist's depiction of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter studying the moon.(Image: © ISRO)


India's second-ever lunar orbiter arrived at the moon just over a month ago, and the probe's instruments have already begun sending home science data.

The Chandrayaan-2 mission launched in July and was designed to tackle a host of questions about the moon, with a particularly sharp eye to the water ice the spacecraft's predecessor spotted at the south pole. The current orbiter carries eight different instruments — and Indian scientists are already poring over some of the mission's very first science data.

The orbiter carries two cameras, both of which have been hard at work. The Terrain Mapping Camera began surveying the moon as soon as Chandrayaan-2 arrived in orbit. Now, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which runs the mission, has also released images taken by a second instrument, the Orbiter High Resolution Camera.

That camera, according to ISRO, captures the most detailed images to date of the lunar surface from an orbiting spacecraft, and is able to catch features that are about 10 inches (25 centimeters) across. On Oct. 4, ISRO released photos the camera took on Sept. 5 of a crater called Boguslawsky E, located near the lunar south pole.

More:
https://www.space.com/india-chandrayaan-2-moon-orbiter-early-science.html?utm_source=notification