Less than two weeks after its historic landing close to the lunar south pole, India’s moon rover has finished its walk on the lunar surface and been switched to sleep mode, according to India’s space mission.
“India’s moon rover Safely parked and set into Sleep Mode”
“The rover finishes up its tasks. The Indian Space Research Organisation stated in a statement late Saturday that the area of the moon’s daylight was now “safely parked and set into sleep mode.” The rover’s payloads have been disabled, and the lander has sent the data it collected to Earth, according to the announcement. It was planned for the Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover to last for one lunar day, or around 14 days on Earth.
The battery is fully charged right now. The solar panel is set up to catch the light on September 22, 2023, when the next sunrise is anticipated. Keep the receiver on. The statement read, “Wishing for a successful wakeup for another round of duties.” No information was available regarding the results of the moon rover’s searches for evidence of frozen water on the lunar surface that would aid future astronaut missions by serving as a potential source of drinking water or by being used to produce rocket propellant.
The moon rover discovered many other elements and confirmed the existence of sulphur, according to the space agency’s report from last week. According to the report, the rover’s laser-induced spectroscope sensor also found silicon, iron, calcium, titanium, manganese, titanium, aluminium, and iron on the surface.
An Emerging Space Superpower
According to the Indian Express newspaper, the electronics on board the Indian lunar mission weren’t made to endure extremely low temperatures, including those that dropped below -184 degrees Fahrenheit at night. On Earth, the lunar night can last up to 14 days. The moon rover has limited battery power, according to science writer and co-author Pallava Bagla of books on India’s space adventure.
The information has returned to Earth and will initially be examined by Indian experts before being examined by all scientists worldwide, he said. The rover may or may not awaken by sunrise on the moon since the electronics malfunction at such low temperatures, according to Bagla.
The technology to create electronic circuits and components that can withstand the extreme cold of the moon doesn’t exist in India, he claimed. India last week became just the fourth nation to accomplish this feat after the United States, the Soviet Union, and China all failed to land on the moon in 2019.
The successful mission fits with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambition to create an image of an ascending nation asserting its position among the world’s elite and highlights India’s burgeoning standing as a technology and space superpower. The mission, which is expected to cost $75 million, started more than a month ago.
