Title: Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover Expected to Wake Up on the Moon
Chennai, India – The Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, essential components of Chandrayaan-3, India’s lunar mission, are anticipated to awaken from their sleep mode on the Moon’s surface. Officials at the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Ground Control Center are working diligently to reactivate the crucial spacecraft. However, scientists caution that the success of this reawakening is uncertain.
The Vikram Lander of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, dispatched by ISRO, successfully completed its landing on August 23 at 6.04 pm, touching down near the Moon’s south pole. Following the landing, the Pragyan rover was deployed and traversed the lunar surface, conducting comprehensive investigations. As the lunar day ended, both the lander and rover were powered down.
Notably, the lunar day is projected to commence tomorrow, September 22. As daylight breaks, the lander and rover are expected to harness solar power, facilitating their reactivation. However, it is critical to acknowledge that the moon’s south polar region encounters extremely frigid temperatures, plummeting to as low as -200 degrees Celsius during the night. It remains uncertain if the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was designed to endure such harsh environmental conditions. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that both the lander and rover were fully charged before entering sleep mode. Scientists concede that predicting their reawakening is challenging, as these devices were engineered to function for a limited duration of 14 Earth days. In contrast, a single lunar day/night span lasts approximately 14 days on Earth.
Once the lander and rover awaken, ISRO plans to conduct an extensive surface survey of the Moon, collecting vital data and expanding our knowledge of Earth’s natural satellite. Prior to entering sleep mode, the lander was elevated around 40 cm above the lunar surface before settling down safely about 30 to 40 cm away.
The imminent reactivation of the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover presents an opportunity for further lunar exploration and analysis. As India’s space agency gears up for potential breakthrough discoveries, scientists and space enthusiasts eagerly await news from the lunar mission.