India’s moon rover has achieved a significant milestone by completing its exploratory activities on the lunar surface and transitioning into sleep mode, according to an announcement from India’s space mission. This development occurred less than two weeks after the rover’s historic landing near the lunar south pole.
In a statement released by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), it was confirmed that the rover had successfully completed its assigned tasks and was safely parked and set into sleep mode. This decision was prompted by the end of daylight on the part of the moon where the rover was stationed.
Key details of the rover’s status and activities are as follows:
- Data Transmission: The rover’s payloads have been turned off, and the data it collected during its mission has been successfully transmitted back to Earth via the lander. This data is expected to provide valuable insights into lunar conditions and composition.
- Battery Status: The rover’s battery is reported to be fully charged, and its solar panel is optimally oriented to receive sunlight during the next lunar sunrise, which is anticipated on September 22, 2023. The receiver remains active, with the hope of a successful reawakening for future assignments.
- Scientific Discoveries: While the statement did not explicitly mention the outcome of the rover’s search for signs of frozen water on the lunar surface, it did confirm that earlier in the week, the rover had confirmed the presence of sulfur and detected several other elements. The rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument had also identified aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen, and silicon on the lunar surface.
- Challenges: It was noted that the electronics onboard the Indian moon mission are not designed to withstand extremely low temperatures, such as those experienced during the lunar nighttime, which can drop to less than minus 120 degrees Celsius (minus 184 degrees Fahrenheit). Furthermore, the lunar night on the moon lasts as long as 14 days on Earth.
- Battery Power Limitations: Pallava Bagla, a science writer and co-author of books on India’s space exploration, highlighted the limited battery power of the rover and expressed uncertainty about whether it would awaken by the next lunar sunrise. He emphasized the challenge of creating electronic circuits and components that can survive the extreme cold of the moon’s environment, indicating that such technology is not currently available in India.
- Data Analysis: The data collected by the rover has been safely returned to Earth and will be analyzed first by Indian scientists before being shared with the global scientific community.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The Rover completed its assignments.It is now safely parked and set into Sleep mode.
APXS and LIBS payloads are turned off.
Data from these payloads is transmitted to the Earth via the Lander.Currently, the battery is fully charged.
The solar panel is…— ISRO (@isro) September 2, 2023
India’s successful lunar mission represents a significant achievement in the nation’s space exploration efforts. After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India has now joined the exclusive club of countries that have achieved a successful lunar landing, including the United States, the Soviet Union, and China.
This achievement underscores India’s growing presence as a technology and space powerhouse and aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of projecting India as a rising global force. The mission commenced over a month ago at an estimated cost of $75 million.
Notably, India’s success on the moon comes shortly after Russia’s Luna-25 mission, which aimed for the same lunar region, experienced a setback, spinning into an uncontrolled orbit and ultimately crashing. Russia’s space agency attributed the failure to a lack of expertise resulting from a long hiatus in lunar research following the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.
India, with a space program active since the 1960s, has a track record of launching satellites for itself and other nations, including a successful Mars orbiter mission in 2014. The nation is also planning its inaugural mission to the International Space Station in collaboration with the United States, further solidifying its presence in the global space community.