Nilanjan
Indian Space Research Organization will have to wait another 14 days to re-establish contact with lander Vikram and rover Pragyan. According to reports, ISRO scientists will continue to make attempts for reviving the Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover till the next lunar sunset which will happen on October 6.
However, ISRO chief S. Somnath said it is not possible to predict when the contact will be re-established.
ISRO shared the latest update on its efforts to re-establish communication with the Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover by waking them up. However, as of now, they have received no signals from them. ISRO has added that it would continue their efforts to reconnect with Vikram and Lander.
On August 23, Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram successfully made soft landing on the moon near its South Pole. With ISRO’s achievement, India became the first country to have created history. The lander travelled 40 days before the historic touch down on the lunar surface.
How Far Has Pragyan Travelled?
Rover Pragyan travelled over 100 meters from the Shiv Shakti point, lander Vikram’s touchdown spot, to explore the moon. Both the lander and the rover have sent several pictures to the space agency, which will give valuable insights into the lunar South Pole. After completing its initial work, the rover was parked safely and put to temporary sleep on September 2.
“We had a plan to move the rover to almost 300-350 metres. But due to some reasons…the rover has moved 105 metres there,” officials said on Friday.
Why Was Pragyan Put to Sleep?
The rover conducted several experiments on the Moon’s surface from August 23 to September 4 before the rover and lander were put to sleep for temporary rest and recharge. The step was important for them to survive extremely frigid temperature at the lunar South Pole.
What Next?
While sharing the latest updates, ISRO has stated that the scientists will continue with their attempts to wake up the rover and lander. However, they need to wait for another lunar day (equal to 14 Earth Days) to reconnect with Vikram and Pragyan..
After conducting experiments on the moon from August 23 to September 4, the rover and lander modules of Chandrayaan-3 were put to sleep in a bid to survive the extremely frigid atmosphere at the south pole of the moon.
