Space
Chandrayan’s ChaSTE
▪ Chandrayan’s ChaSTE becomes the first mission to successfully penetrate the soil of a celestial body (at Shiv Shakti landing site of Moon) to deploy a thermal probe.
About ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment)
▪ It is one of the payloads aboard the Lander (named Vikram) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
▪ Developed by: The instrument was designed by the Physical Research Lab, Ahmedabad and the Space Physics Lab (SPL), VSSC.
▪ Objective: It has the objectives of measuring lunar surface temperatures, thermal conductivity, and the temperature gradient to a depth of 100 mm.
▪ Significance: The findings of the study will provide a comprehensive understanding of the moon’s thermo-physics and its near-surface and sub-surface water-ice distribution, laying the groundwork for future exploration and habitation strategies.
