Shiv Shakti Point: Age and Exploration Highlights

GS3 SCIENCE & TECH: 

Chandrayaan-3 Mission

• India’s third lunar exploration mission by ISRO achieved a historic soft landing on the moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023.
• Key components included the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, which collected critical data on lunar geology.

Age Estimation

• The Shiv Shakti point is approximately 3.7 billion years old, coinciding with the emergence of primitive life on Earth.
• ISRO’s Physical Research Laboratory determined this by analyzing 25 craters and corroborating findings through nearby crater studies.

Geological Features

• Terrain types include high-relief rugged terrain, high-relief smooth plains, and low-relief smooth plains (the oldest terrain).
• The site is surrounded by craters like Manzinus (3.9 billion years) and Boguslawsky (4 billion years), influencing local geology.

Rock Distribution and Composition

• Pragyan rover analyzed 5,764 rocks, with 525 measuring over 5 meters in length.
• Larger rocks near a fresh crater 14 km south of the landing site suggest minimal space weathering.

Significance

These findings advance knowledge about the moon’s evolution and offer insights into planetary processes, potentially aiding future explorations.