Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram lander successfully touched down on the moon’s south pole on Wednesday evening, sparking jubilation across the country. But the arduous task lies ahead for India’s third moon mission. 

Once the Chandrayaan 3 deploys the rover near the lunar south pole, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) scientists have said that they will run a series of experiments for 14 days to learn more about the composition of lunar soil and rocks. The south pole on the moon is expected to have ice deposits and minerals.

India is looking to become the first country to conduct studies of the south pole. No mission has yet ventured to this part of the moon. 

The rover payloads will carry out quantitative and qualitative elemental analysis. They will derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition to further the understanding of lunar surface.

Chandrayaan 3’s soft landing took place days after Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after spinning out of control. 

Vikram lander and the six-wheeled rover are designed to operate for one lunar daylight period.