The Chandrayaan-3 mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has sparked fresh excitement among science enthusiasts. The latest findings, from the Pragyan rover, reveal the discovery of an ancient lunar crater. This crater, measuring a massive 160 km in diameter, is believed to predate the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, the moon’s largest and oldest known impact basin. The data was collected before the Pragyan rover and Vikram lander completed their mission on 3 September 2023 and entered sleep mode.

Ancient Crater Older Than the SPA Basin

Scientists at PRL Ahmedabad have detailed their findings in a paper titled Chandrayaan-3 Landing Site Evolution by South Pole-Aitken Basin and Other Impact Craters. According to their analysis, Chandrayaan-3 landed on a much older buried impact crater, which lies around 350 km from the rim of the SPA basin. This ancient crater likely formed long before the SPA basin itself.

Chandrayaan-3 landing site evolution by South Pole-Aitken basin and other impact craters - revealed in a study led by @PRLAhmedabad scientist Dr. S. Vijayan.#shivshaktipointhttps://t.co/y9yORpviM9 pic.twitter.com/A7Ivtl5C9H
Prof. Anil Bhardwaj, FNA,FASc,FNASc,JC Bose Fellow (@Bhardwaj_A_2016) September 22, 2024

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New Insights Into Lunar History

The Pragyan rover's high-resolution Navcam and optical cameras have captured a “semi-circular, heavily degraded structure” near the landing site. It is now considered one of the moon’s oldest geological features, buried under debris, or ejecta, from the SPA basin and nearby impact zones. These findings are already helping researchers worldwide better understand lunar evolution, and they could play a critical role in future missions, such as Chandrayaan-4, scheduled for 2027.

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