Chandrayaan-3: ISRO 'Awaiting Awakening' Of Vikram Lander And Rover On September 22

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists are now gearing up to revive Chandrayaan-3's Vikram Lander and Pragyan rover as new lunar dawn is on the horizon on the 22nd of September. This comes after the rover and the lander have been in "sleep mode" for about two weeks to gauge if they survived the freezing temperatures of the lunar night.

WHAT HAD HAPPENED:

On 4th September, the lander had been put to sleep before lunar sunset and ISRO said on their website, "The lander and rover are in sleep mode. Awaiting their awakening around September 22, 2023."

As per media reports, S Somnath, chairman, ISRO said that they hope when the sun rises on Shivshakti Point, the equipment will come back to life. Their team would attempt a reboot of the instruments on 21st and 22nd September which is on lunar dawn, he further added.

Reportedly, ISRO scientists also said that the reboot of these modules will offer a chance at an over and above what already has been an entirely successfully completed mission. Chandrayaan-3 was designed originally to operate for 14 Earth days which it did successfully.

HOW WILL IT RESTART:

As per reports quoting ISRO officials, before the equipment on board Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover were put to sleep in a phased manner starting 2nd September, they ensured three things that would give them a chance at restarting the modules.

Firstly, the batteries were fully charged before being put to sleep. Secondly, the solar panels were oriented in a way that they started receiving light along with sunrise. Furthermore, on 21st September when sunlight on the landing spot is bright enough to power the instruments, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRACK) teams would issue commands to restart the equipment. Once and if the machines are charged, Chandrayaan-3 gets a new life.

ABOUT CHANDRAYAAN-3

In a remarkable feat, on 23rd August, Chandrayaan-3 "successfully soft-landed " on the moon. IRSO said, "'I reached my destination, and you too!': Chandrayaan-3. Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon. Congratulations, India!" From that time till 4th September, the rover and lander have collected bulks of data including "presence of Sulphur (S) on the lunar surface", detection of the "presence of minor elements", measure of "near-surface plasma content" etc. All in all, Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover landed and hopped successfully, and now it's a wait-and-watch if it can revive itself successfully as well.

The main objectives of the Chandrayaan-3 mission as per ISRO were First, to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the Lunar surface of the moon. Second, to demonstrate rover roving on the moon, and third, to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-3 mission, which was launched on July 14, 2023 has already put India on as a leader in global space research marking India as the 4th country to land successfully on the moon. Not only this, India also became the 1st to land near the lunar south pole.