The Vikram Lander of India’s Chandrayaan-3 is likely to wake up from sleep mode today. This will take the Indian Space Research Organisation’s mission to its second phase.
If the lander wakes up and becomes operational again, it would mark another milestone for India. This will also enable the spacecraft to perform the same experiments over and over again.
Former ISRO Chairman K Sivan said that he hopes lot of new things will come with the attempt of waking up the Lander and the Rover. “We have to wait and see. It has undergone a lunar night. Now the lunar day starts. So, now they will try to wake up. If all the systems are functioning, it will be alright…This is not the end, a lot more new Sciences will come. Even now the Chandrayaan-1’s data has brought in a lot of discoveries. So, I hope that a lot of new things will come. Scientists will keep trying. So, this is not the end of the story…” he said.
Minister of State Jitendra Singh said that the Pragyan Rover and Vikram Lander will wake up after facing sunrays.
While addressing the Lok Sabha on day 4 of the special session of the Parliament Singh said, “After a few hours when Moon will face the Sun, our Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover will wake up. We have arranged solar batteries and panels have been set in such a direction that when Vikram faces sunrays a communication circuit will get activated. Both Vikram and Pragyan are awaiting a wake-up call.”
ISRO posted on X saying that 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.
The space agency, on September 2, said that Pragyan Rover had “completed its assignments” on the Moon’s surface and had been “safely parked and set into sleep mode”. Both the Lander and the Rover have been in complete darkness since September 4 when sunset occurred at the Shiv Shakti point.
India’s Chandrayaan-3 — launched on July 14 — successfully landed on the south pole of the moon on August 23. Since then, both Pragyan and Vikram have sent a repository of data to ISRO, some of which has been made public by the space agency.
India became the first ever country to reach the south pole of the Moon. Following the success of the mission, prime minister Narendra Modi — in his address — announced that the landing point of the Vikram Lander will be known as ‘Shiv Shakti’.
“The spot on the lunar surface where the Chandrayaan-2 left its footprints will be known as ‘Tiranga’. This will be an inspiration for every effort made by India. it will remind us any failure is not final,” he added.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed Chandrayaan-3 as a major achievement for the nation and said that there are many developed countries — with a richer source pool — that are still trying to reach the Moon, while India has achieved it with limited resources.
India is today among the leading nations in the field of science due to their relentless efforts, the release read.
(With inputs from ANI)