The Chandrayaan 3 mission is approaching the end of its planned exploration period, equivalent to one lunar day, which spans 14 Earth days. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now preparing to activate a “sleep mode” operation for the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover as the lunar night draws near, when temperatures are expected to drop below -200 degrees Celsius. This announcement was made by S Somanath, the chief of the Indian space agency.
Somanath stated, “The Pragyan rover and Vikram lander are still operational. In the next one to two days, we will initiate the process of placing both of them into sleep mode to endure the lunar night.” He shared this information while delivering congratulations following the successful launch of the Aditya L1 sun mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
He also mentioned that the Pragyan rover has covered a distance of approximately 100 meters from the lander.
ISRO has provided updates on the Chandrayaan 3 mission’s progress, including sharing a picture illustrating the path taken by the Pragyan rover during the lunar exploration mission, indicating a total traverse distance of 101.4 meters.
ISRO has been sharing data from the in situ scientific experiments conducted by the Chandrayaan 3 mission. Recently, the Indian space agency reported that the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) payload recorded an event that appears to be natural, and its source is currently under investigation.
Earlier reports revealed that the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectroscope (APXS) successfully identified sulfur, among other minor elements, on the lunar terrain.
Furthermore, the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument on the rover has confirmed the presence of sulfur, contributing to the growing understanding of lunar composition and characteristics.
In other space news, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, Aditya L1, was launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on Saturday. The mission’s primary objective is to observe the Sun’s corona and gain insights into its extreme heat.
