Contextual characterization study of Chandrayaan-3 primary landing site

Chandrayaan-3 is an upcoming lunar mission of India aimed at soft landing and carrying out first-ever in situ investigations at a high-latitude location on the Moon. Chandrayaan-3 consists of a propulsion module, a lander and a rover, that carry a set of payloads for conducting in situ science experiments. In this work, contextual characterization of the primary landing site (PLS) located at 69.367621°S, 32.348126 °E is carried out in terms of identification, geomorphology, composition, and thermophysical context using the best-ever high-resolution data sets. Our geomorphological study indicates that the PLS is safe for landing with slope less than 4° in about 78 per cent of landing area and an average elevation variation of about 169 m. The spectral analysis suggests that the region must have experienced extensive space weathering. Compositional analysis indicates that the landing region has a typical highland type of soil characteristics with Mg (4.3-5.2 wt. per cent), Fe (4.2-4.9 wt. per cent), Ca (10-11 wt. per cent), and Ti (0.25-0.35 wt. per cent). Thermophysical analyses show ∼30 and 175 K variability in spatial and diurnal temperatures at the PLS-an indicative of a local terrain of distinctive thermophysical characteristics. With important science instruments onboard, Chandrayaan-3 will provide a unique opportunity towards looking at localized variations leading to an improved understanding of the lunar surface.