Bangalore, Nov 29: After successfully landing the
Moon Impact Probe (MIP) on the lunar surface on Nov 14, ISRO
has activated stereoscopic camera that has provided "very good
images", ISRO Chief Madhavan Nair said.
"After the landing of MIP on Moon, we have activated
stereoscopic camera which has given us very good images. The
pictures are already on our website and give fine details of
the surface, craters, mountain like structures, it is very
valuable catch," he said on the sidelines of `Bengaluru Space
Expo` here.
"All other instruments on Chandrayaan-1 have also been
energised. Two instruments, however, remain to be switched
off. They are scheduled to activated by mid-December as they
(instruments) require favourable conditions such as sun angle
and so on," Nair said.
As MIP was descending, the video (stereoscopic) camera
took 3,000 images within 25 minutes. "The closest image was
just at the ridge of Shackleton crater and it has given a very
vivid image of that. It shows that MIP has precisely landed,"
he said.
"The mass spectrometer has given a data which shows the
types of elements present on the lunar surface. It (data) has
to be calibrated," Nair said.
The altimeter, he said, is another instrument which is
supposed to give trajectory. "The work (calibration) is going
on and it will take three months. This has confirmed that
whatever we have done is on the dot," he added.
Bureau Report
