The accomplishments of Chandrayaan-3 contribute to India’s increasing capability in the field of space exploration. They have successfully launched a number of satellites for other countries, too, and the Mangalyaan Mars Orbiter has been operational for 7.5 years, which is incredible. In addition to that, India is getting ready to send the first crew to the International Space Station in partnership with NASA. On August 23, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover, which were part of India’s Chandrayaan-3 project, successfully touched down on the Moon. It is possible that the rover’s mission has been completed when the lunar day comes to a close two weeks later. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has activated the sleep mode on the Pragyan spacecraft.
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After completing its limited mission and sending all of the data it collected, Pragyan has now entered hibernation. Because of NASA’s Mars rovers, we’ve seen rover missions that have the potential to persist for years. However, those rovers are powered by MMRTGs, which stand for multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generators, and they have a lifespan of years.
There is a possibility that Pragyan may be able to revive once the night has passed on the Moon and that it will be able to carry on with its task on September 22. ISRO has made part of the data gathered from the mission public. And here’s something genuinely intriguing. The lander’s temperature readings revealed a significant disparity between the surface temperature and the temperature closest to and just below the surface. At the surface, the temperature was 50 degrees Celsius, but only a few millimeters below the surface, it was ten degrees Celsius cooler.
In addition, sulfur was discovered at the South Pole. This is the first time that it has been identified in the Moon’s South Pole; nevertheless, it has been detected in other regions of the Moon. The engineering goals of the mission were to demonstrate that the rover is capable of driving on the Moon while also ensuring a safe landing on the Moon. Those goals have been accomplished by the mission up to this point.
The remaining data from the mission will decide the overall success of the research goals, and Indian experts will get the opportunity to examine the material before it is made accessible to scientists from other countries across the world. However, there is still a possibility that Pragyan might return after the night is through. ISRO has high expectations that the lander will be able to complete its mission once the Sun resumes its position in the sky on September 22.
