Good news has come related to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)’s Chandrayaan-3, which is situated on the Moon.
American space agency NASA is preparing to launch its Nova-C lander on the south pole of the Moon. Its landing target is not far from the area where Chandrayaan-3 had created history by reaching there.
In this way, soon Chandrayaan is going to get a new friend on the moon. This mission has been named IM-1. It is set to deliver payload to an unknown part of the lunar surface, with a Malapert A crater shaft landing. Along with NASA, astronomers from all over the world are keeping an eye on this important mission.
The importance of this mission of NASA is related to its destination only. Actually, the south pole of the Moon has attracted a lot of scientists and space enthusiasts. The landing site chosen by NASA is Malapert-A, which is a satellite crater near the larger Malapert crater.
This area extends for 69 kilometers. It is interesting to know that this region is named after Charles Malapert, who is a major personality in the history of astronomy.
Malapert-A is made from lunar highland material found at the Apollo 16 landing site.
Target to reach about 300 km away from South Pole
The Nova-C lander is ready to reach a point about 300 kilometers away from the Moon’s South Pole. Its proximity to the Malapert Massif is a key feature of the region.
Malapert-A is one of 13 sites being considered for NASA’s Artemis III mission. The selection of this site for the Nova-C lander reflects other important considerations, such as exploring the Moon’s polar resources.
There will also be a possible search for water or ice. This mission becomes more special because it will make other future missions much easier. The information received from here will be very useful in future.