Chandrayaan 3 Mission: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to awaken the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover modules from the ‘sleep mode’ to face the sun’s rays after they were put into after having completed their set tasks. Since their successful landing on August 24, the two lunar explorers have been in sleep mode on the Moon’s frigid surface. Speaking to reporters, former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair said there is a fairly good chance that the system will be operational again.
Taking to X (earlier Twitter), ISRO said it will wait for Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover to heat up above a certain temperature before beginning attempts to re-establish communications with them on September 22. “Sunrise is expected to have occurred at the Shiv Shakti point today and soon Vikram and Pragyan will be receiving usable amounts of sunlight! #ISRO will now wait for them to heat up above a certain temperature before beginning attempts to re-establish communications with them on 22 Sept. #Chandrayaan3,” ISRO said in a post on X.
ISRO CHANDRAYAAN 3 MISSION: WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF LANDER AND ROVER ACTIVATE SUCCESSFULLY
If the lander and rover activate successfully then it would be another milestone for India as it will help to collect more data from the lunar surface.
“Once it comes to operation it is quite possible that we can move around for some distance over the next 14 days and collect adequate data, more data on the surface conditions on the Moon near the South Pole,” Nair told ANI.
ISRO CHANDRAYAAN 3 MISSION: IF ROVER FAILS TO REVIVE
Meanwhile, former ISRO scientist Tapan Mishra said that even if the rover fails to revive and the lander works, it will be a miracle. “Originally the Chandrayaan lander rover was designed for only 14 days of operation. It is expected that the temperature will go down to -140 degrees Celsius or lower, in the Southern pole it can reach down to -200 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, no plastic material, no carbon power material or no electronics can survive. They will crack. But I’m hopeful that ISRO must have done a lot of thermal management thing,” Mishra told ANI.
