HPAS/Allied Mains 2022 Answer Writing Challenge Day 250: Model Answer

Question: Explain the objectives of Pragyan Rover onboard Chandrayaan-2. (4 marks/ 60 words)

Answer:

Pragyan (‘wisdom) was the rover of Chandrayaan-2, a lunar mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), that launched in July 2019.

According to ISRO, Pragyan Rover can conduct the in-situ payload experiments. The total weight of Pragyan Rover is 27 kg and it has an electric power generation capacity of 50 W.

Pragyan Rover Mission Payloads are Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS).

The main objective of APXS is to determine the elemental composition of the surface of moon near the landing site of rover. The APXS manages to do this through the utilization of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy technique, where the X-ray or alpha particles are utilized to excite the surface. APXS makes use of radioactive Curium (244) metal which emits high-energy, alpha particles, X-rays which enables both X-ray emission spectroscopy as well as the X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

On the other hand, LIBS helps in identification and determination of the abundance of elements near the landing site on the lunar surface.

The expected operating time of Pragyan rover was one lunar day or around 14 Earth days.

Pragyan was destroyed along with its lander, Vikram, when it crash-landed on the Moon in September 2019 and never got the chance to deploy.