Chandrayaan-3's unplanned 'hop' experiment reveals Moon's surface is layered like a cake

India's Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander performed an unplanned "hop experiment" on September 2, 2023, firing its engines to jump about 50 cm before hibernation. The rocket plume blew away 3 cm of loose topsoil, letting ChaSTE probe study the layer beneath. Scientists found lunar south pole surface is layered like a cake, with a denser compact layer just few centimetres below.