India shut down its lunar rover, the first spacecraft to reach the moon’s south pole, after completing a two-week experimental mission, the Indian space agency said.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) posted on X (formerly Twitter) late Saturday that the Pragyan rover aboard the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was “set to sleep mode,” but with batteries charged and receivers turned on.
“Wishing success for another set of mission awakening!” said ISRO. “Otherwise, it will remain there forever as India’s lunar ambassador.”
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The rover has accomplished its mission.It is now safely parked and set to sleep mode.
APXS and LIBS payloads are turned off.
Data from these payloads is transmitted to Earth via the lander.Currently, the battery is fully charged.
Solar panels are…— Indian Space Research Organization (@isro) September 2, 2023
By landing on the moon, India joined the ranks of the United States, China and the former Soviet Union. Shortly after Russia’s Luna-25 crashed in a similar attempt, it overtook them and reached the rugged South Pole.
After a failed attempt in 2019, Chandrayaan-3 landed with a textbook soft touchdown, drawing widespread cheers in the world’s most populous country. The media hailed the landing as India’s greatest scientific feat.
ISRO said Pragyan flew more than 100 m (330 ft), confirming the presence of sulfur, iron, oxygen and other elements on the moon.
Now, India is hoping to succeed with a probe launched on Saturday designed to study the sun and observe the solar wind that can cause disturbances on Earth, commonly known as auroras.
ISRO said on Sunday that “the satellite is in good condition” and in Earth orbit, preparing for a 1.5 million-kilometer (930,000-mile) journey.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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