Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Mission Completes, Rover Goes Into Sleep Mode: Isro

The Rover Pragyan of the Chandrayaan-3 has completed its mission and is presently in sleep mode, according to Isro.

As per Isro, the rover's battery on Chandrayaan-3 is fully charged and set to return to action later this month, on 22 September.

The space agency's declaration came only hours after its chairman S Somanath claimed the lunar mission's rover and lander, dubbed 'Pragyan' and 'Vikram,' were performing well and would be put to "sleep" soon to prepare for the night on the Moon.

“The Rover completed its missions. It is now securely parked and in Sleep mode. The APXS and LIBS payloads have been disabled. The Lander transmits data from these payloads to Earth,” Isro announced in an update on social networking site X.

The battery is currently fully charged, and the solar panel is angled to receive light at the next sunrise on 22 September 2023.

“The receiver is still turned on. I'm hoping for a successful waking for the next round of tasks! Otherwise, it would remain there in perpetuity as India's lunar ambassador,” it stated. Somanath had earlier stated that the rover had travelled about 100 metres away from the lander.

“We are going to start the process of making both of them sleep in the coming one or two days because they have to withstand the night,” he said.