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It's been 2 months since when India’s Chandrayaan-3 started descending on the Moon on August 23, its Vikram lander began a well-choreographed dance of speed, time, and distance, activating its thrusters to ‘soft land’ on the lunar surface.
Now the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has come out with detailed research on what happened during those crucial final moments when the Indian spacecraft made history on another celestial body.
What Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram, which was carrying the rover Pragyan, did was kick off a storm of lunar dust on the surface thanks to its landing thrusters, creating a halo on the surface, which is described as 'ejecta halo.'
Ejecta halo can be understood by this simple example: When a meteorite or asteroid collides with the Moon's surface, it creates a crater, and the material excavated from the impact site is referred to as ejecta. The ejecta can be made up of rock, soil, and dust from the lunar surface.
The ejecta from the impact is often thrown out in all directions and can create a distinctive pattern around the crater. This pattern is known as the ejecta halo. It typically consists of debris and material that has been displaced from the impact site and can extend for some distance around the crater.
The appearance and extent of an ejecta halo depend on various factors, including the size and speed of the impacting object, the properties of the lunar surface, and the angle of impact. Studying ejecta halos can provide insights into the dynamics of lunar impacts and the geological history of the Moon.
As the Vikram lander hovered just a few meters above the surface of the Moon, the descent thrusters caused a substantial amount of lunar surficial epiregolith material to be ejected.
This resulted in a phenomenon known as a 'reflectance anomaly' or 'ejecta halo'. This term refers to an irregular bright patch that appeared around the lander due to the displaced lunar material.
To read more about ISRO's findings https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/science/chandrayaan-3/story/chandrayaan-3-created-a-halo-on-the-moon-it-will-help-us-unravel-lunar-mysteries-2455578-2023-10-30