Pragyan rover put to sleep on Moon, Isro hopes to wake it up 14 days later.
The Indian Space Research Organisation on Saturday said that the Pragyan rover on the Moon has been put to sleep. The Space Centre hopes to wake it up 14 days later.
The rover is equipped with two payloads, the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) and the Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS). The payloads that transmit data to the Earth via the lander are turned off.
"The solar panel is oriented to receive the light at the next sunrise expected on September 22, 2023," Isro said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
If the Pragyan rover does not have a "successful awakening", it will stay on the Moon forever as India's lunar ambassador.
The Pragyan rover and the Vikram lander had been working in tandem to gather valuable scientific data. The APXS and LIBS payloads are designed to analyze the elemental and mineralogical composition of the lunar soil and rocks.
The Pragyan rover rolled out on the Moon following the successful landing of the Vikram lander. It has confirmed the presence of sulphur, iron, oxygen, and other elements on the moon. The rover's journey of 100 meters is a testament to ISRO's end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.
Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the Moon's surface on August 23, 2023. The mission marked India as only the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface.
India's ambitious lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, is set to conclude its operations in the next seven days.
The mission, which has been a technological challenge undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and successfully landed on the moon's south pole on August 23.
The mission's primary objective was to achieve a soft landing on the moon, explore the lunar surface, and collect invaluable scientific data.
One of the major goals of Chandrayaan-3 was to hunt for water, as scientists believe that the huge craters in the south polar region, which are permanently in shadow, hold ice that could support human habitation on the Moon in the future.
The Pragyan rover, named after the Sanskrit word for "wisdom," has been conducting a series of experiments on the lunar surface since its deployment from the Vikram lander.
It has been analyzing the lunar soil and collecting data to better understand the composition of the moon. However, with the onset of the lunar night, the rover will cease operations, marking the end of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
However, the mission is set to end soon.
WHY WILL IT END SO SOON?
The mission will come to an end due to the lunar night, a period when the surface of the moon is not exposed to the sun.
This phenomenon lasts about 14 Earth days, equivalent to one lunar day. During this time, the region goes dark, making it impossible for the solar-powered Pragyan rover to operate.
The lunar night is a result of the moon's rotation, which lasts about 28 days on Earth. For half of this period, the moon's surface is exposed to the sun, while for the other half, it is in darkness. This cycle is similar to the pattern of daylight hours on Earth, which is higher in the summer and lower in the winter due to the tilt of Earth's axis.
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