MOSCOW, Aug 29The Indian lunar rover «Pragyan», delivered on August 23 to the south pole of the moon, is capable of moving only for short distances, it will not be able to reach the crash site of the Russian interplanetary station «Luna-25» and photograph its wreckage, said a scientist, a leading researcher at the Institute of Space Research (IKI) RAS Nathan Eismont.
“Due to its functions, it cannot do this (take pictures of the crashed Luna-25 — ed.). In principle, such a task can be performed, but it should be a special separate task and another device, much more complex and expensive,» Eismont said.
According to him, the Indian lunar rover is capable of traveling «very small» distances.
Earlier, the Indian Space Research Organization reported that the Pragyan lunar rover transmitted the first data on the temperature of different layers of the lunar surface. According to the organization's website, the power of the lunar rover is 50 watts. The device will work only one lunar day (14 Earth days).
India was the first in the world to successfully land a spacecraft on the south pole of the moon on 23 August. The unmanned space station Chandrayaan-3 was launched into space on July 14 and entered lunar orbit on August 5. The Vikram descent module separated from the station on August 17 and performed two deorbiting operations before landing. The Indian Space Research Organization also reported that the Indian lunar rover Pragyan, delivered on Wednesday to the south pole of the moon aboard the Vikram descent vehicle, left the surface of the Earth's natural satellite.