India’s lunar rover completes its trek and analyzes data for signs of frozen water
India’s lunar rover has completed its walk on the lunar surface and has been put into sleep mode less than two weeks after its historic landing near the lunar south pole, India’s space mission said: “The rover is performing its duties. It is now safely parked and set.” Put into sleep mode as daylight runs out on that part of the moon, the Indian Space Research Organization said in a statement late Saturday. The rover’s payloads are powered down and the data collected has been transmitted to Earth via the lander, the statement said. The lander and rover Chandrayaan-3 is expected to operate for just one lunar day, equivalent to 14 days on Earth. “Currently the battery is fully charged. The solar panel is oriented to receive the light.” The next sunrise is expected on September 22, 2023. The handset remains switched on. I hope for a successful awakening for another series of tasks!” there was no information. Last week, the space agency said the lunar rover confirmed the presence of sulfur and discovered several other elements. The rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument also detected aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon on the surface, it said. The Indian Express newspaper said the electronics on board the Indian lunar mission were not designed to withstand these very cold temperatures, less than -120 °C (-184 °F) during the night on the moon. The moonlit night also lasts up to 14 days on Earth. Pallava Bagla, science journalist and co-author of books on India’s space exploration, said the rover has limited battery power. The data is back on Earth and will be analyzed by Indian scientists as a first look and then by the world community, he said. At sunrise on the moon, the rover may or may not wake up because electronics die in such cold temperatures, Bagla said “With the extremely cold temperature of the moon, this technology doesn’t exist in India,” he said. After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India last week joined the United States, the Soviet Union and China as only the fourth country to reach the milestone. The successful mission showcases India’s growing position as a technology and space powerhouse and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desire to project an image of an emerging country asserting its place in the global elite. The mission began more than a month ago at an estimated cost of $75 million. India’s success came just days after Russia’s Luna-25, trying to target the same lunar region, went into an uncontrolled orbit and crashed. It would be the first successful Russian moon landing in 47 years. Russia’s head of state-controlled space company Roskosmos attributed the failure to a lack of expertise due to the long hiatus in lunar exploration after the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976. Active since the 1960s, India has satellites for itself and other countries launched and successfully put one into orbit around Mars in 2014. India is planning its first mission to the International Space Station next year in cooperation with The United States.
India’s lunar rover has completed its walk on the lunar surface and has been put into sleep mode less than two weeks after its historic landing near the lunar south pole, India’s space mission said.
“The rover does its job. It is now safely parked and put into sleep mode,” the Indian Space Research Organization said in a statement late Saturday, as daylight comes to an end on that part of the moon.
The rover’s payloads were shut down and the data collected was transmitted to Earth via the lander, the statement said.
The Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover were expected to operate for just one lunar day, equivalent to 14 days on Earth.
“Currently the battery is fully charged. The solar panel is aligned to receive the light at the next sunrise, which is expected on September 22, 2023. The receiver remains switched on. I hope for a successful awakening to another set of tasks!” the statement said.
There was no information about the result of the rover’s search for signs of frozen water on the lunar surface, which future astronaut missions could use as a potential source of drinking water or for the production of rocket fuel.
Last week, the space agency said the lunar rover confirmed the presence of sulfur and detected several other elements. The rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument also detected aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon on the surface, it said.
The Indian Express newspaper said the electronics onboard the Indian lunar mission were not designed to withstand very low temperatures of less than -120°C (-184°F) during the night on the moon. The moonlit night also lasts up to 14 days on Earth.
Pallava Bagla, science journalist and co-author of books on India’s space exploration, said the rover has limited battery power.
The data is back on Earth and will be analyzed first by Indian scientists and then by the world community, he said
At sunrise on the moon, the rover may or may not wake up because the electronics break down in such cold temperatures, Bagla said.
“Making electronic circuits and components that can survive the deep cold of the moon, that technology doesn’t exist in India,” he said.
After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India last week became only the fourth country to reach the milestone, along with the US, the Soviet Union and China.
The successful mission reflects India’s growing position as a technology and space powerhouse and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desire to project an image of an emerging country asserting its place in the global elite.
The mission began more than a month ago and cost an estimated $75 million.
India’s success came just days after Russia’s Luna-25, trying to target the same lunar region, went into an uncontrolled orbit and crashed. It would be the first successful Russian moon landing in 47 years.
Russia’s head of the state-controlled space company Roskosmos attributed the failure to a lack of expertise due to the long hiatus in lunar research after the last Soviet lunar mission in 1976.
Active since the 1960s, India has launched satellites for itself and other countries, successfully putting one into orbit around Mars in 2014. India is planning its first mission to the International Space Station next year in cooperation with the United States.
