Two hours after Vikram's touchdown, a ramp unfolds from the lander's belly. Pragyan — meaning "wisdom" in Sanskrit — rolls onto the Moon's surface at 1 cm per second. India's first rover leaves its mark on the lunar south pole.

Pragyan's Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) fires high-energy laser pulses at the regolith. The plasma emission reveals sulfur, aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese and oxygen — and notably, hydrogen is being searched.

The Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) is deployed against the surface. It fires alpha particles and measures backscattered X-rays to map elemental composition in detail — confirming the unique geochemistry of the lunar south pole.

Pragyan detects a 4-metre wide crater directly in its path. Onboard navigation autonomously replans the route, backing up 2 metres and curving around the hazard — a first for any Indian rover. Safety protocols execute flawlessly.

ChaSTE (Chandra's Surface Thermo Physical Experiment) on Vikram measures a surface temperature of +50°C in sunlight — but just 8 cm below, it plunges to −10°C. The thermal gradient is far steeper than scientists expected.

After 14 Earth days of operations covering 100+ metres, lunar night falls at the south pole. Temperatures drop to −200°C — far beyond Pragyan's operating range. ISRO powers the rover down in safe mode, hoping solar panels will wake it when the Sun returns. Pragyan has already made history.