India’s moon lander Vikram has achieved an unexpected feat by successfully undergoing a hop experiment on the lunar surface after the moon rover Pragyan went to sleep, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). ISRO reported that the Vikram Lander, which had initially encountered challenges during its descent in a previous mission, exceeded its objectives this time.
On command, it fired its engines, elevating itself by about 40 cm and landing safely just 30-40 cm away. ISRO expressed enthusiasm for future lunar sample return missions and manned missions to the moon. All systems performed nominally during the experiment, and various deployed components were successfully folded back and redeployed.
Earlier, ISRO had announced the rover’s discovery of oxygen, aluminum, sulfur, and other materials near the lunar south pole, with an ongoing investigation into the presence of hydrogen.