The rover’s payloads are switched off and data it collected has been transmitted to Earth, India’s space organization says

By Marilyn Ossai

Al jazeera – India’s moon rover has been turned off after completing its walk on the lunar surface two weeks after its historic landing close to the lunar south pole, the country’s space organisation has said.

The Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which took off on July 14, was “set into Sleep mode”, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X, previously Twitter, late on Saturday.

The rover’s payloads are switched off and the data it gathered has been sent to the Earth through the lander, the assertion said.

The Chandrayaan-3 (“Mooncraft-3” in Sanskrit) lander and rover were supposed to work just for one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 days on earth. ISRO trusts that the rover may reawaken for another set of assignments when the next lunar day starts on September 22.

There was no word on the outcome of the rover searches for indications of frozen water on the lunar surface that could be useful to future astronaut missions, as a potential source of drinking water or to make rocket fuel.

Last week, the space agency said the moon rover confirmed the presence of sulphur and detected a few different components. The rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument additionally identified aluminium, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon on the surface, it said.

The Indian Express newspaper said the gadgets on board the moon mission were not designed to withstand very low temperatures, less than – 120C (- 184F) during the nighttime on the moon.

Pallava Bagla, a science writer 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 analysed by Indian scientists as a first look and afterward by the worldwide local area, he said.

By dawn on the moon, the rover may or may not wake up because electronics can die at chilly temperatures, Bagla said.

“Creating electronic circuits and parts that can endure the profound cold temperature of the moon – that innovation 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 achieve this milestone.

The fruitful mission showcases India’s rising standing as a technology and space powerhouse to dovetail with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desire to project an image of an ascendant country asserting its place among the worldwide first class.

The mission started over a month prior at an expected expense of $75m.

India’s prosperity came only days after Russia’s Luna 25, which was going for the gold lunar district, turned into an uncontrolled circle and crashed. It had been intended to be the first successful Russian lunar landing after a gap of 47 years.

The head of Russia’s state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos attributed the failure to a lack of expertise because of the long break in lunar exploration that followed the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.

Active in space exploration since the 1960s, India has launched satellites for itself and other countries, and successfully put one in orbit around Mars in 2014.

India is arranging its most memorable mission to the International Space Station next year, in a joint effort with the United States.

The rover’s payloads are switched off and data it collected has been transmitted to Earth, India’s space organisation says.

India’s moon rover has been turned off after completing its walk on the lunar surface two weeks after its historic landing close to the lunar south pole, the country’s space organisation has said.

The Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which took off on July 14, was “set into Sleep mode”, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X, previously Twitter, late on Saturday.

The rover’s payloads are switched off and the data it gathered has been sent to the Earth through the lander, the assertion said.

The Chandrayaan-3 (“Mooncraft-3” in Sanskrit) lander and rover were supposed to work just for one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 days on earth. ISRO trusts that the rover may reawaken for another set of assignments when the next lunar day starts on September 22.

There was no word on the outcome of the rover searches for indications of frozen water on the lunar surface that could be useful to future astronaut missions, as a potential source of drinking water or to make rocket fuel.

Last week, the space agency said the moon rover confirmed the presence of sulphur and detected a few different components. The rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument additionally identified aluminium, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon on the surface, it said.

The Indian Express newspaper said the gadgets on board the moon mission were not designed to withstand very low temperatures, less than – 120C (- 184F) during the nighttime on the moon.

Pallava Bagla, a science writer 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 analysed by Indian scientists as a first look and afterward by the worldwide local area, he said.

By dawn on the moon, the rover may or may not wake up because electronics can die at chilly temperatures, Bagla said.

“Creating electronic circuits and parts that can endure the profound cold temperature of the moon – that innovation 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 achieve this milestone.

The fruitful mission showcases India’s rising standing as a technology and space powerhouse to dovetail with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desire to project an image of an ascendant country asserting its place among the worldwide first class.

The mission started over a month prior at an expected expense of $75m.

India’s prosperity came only days after Russia’s Luna 25, which was going for the gold lunar district, turned into an uncontrolled circle and crashed. It had been intended to be the first successful Russian lunar landing after a gap of 47 years.

The head of Russia’s state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos attributed the failure to a lack of expertise because of the long break in lunar exploration that followed the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.

Active in space exploration since the 1960s, India has launched satellites for itself and other countries, and successfully put one in orbit around Mars in 2014.

India is arranging its most memorable mission to the International Space Station next year, in a joint effort with the United States.