Shillong, September 2: Dr. S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), announced that India’s moon lander Vikram and the rover Pragyan will be placed in sleep mode in the coming days.
As per IANS, this decision comes after the successful orbiting of the Aditya-L1 spacecraft in its intended intermediate orbit by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C57 (PSLV-C57).
Dr. Somanath mentioned that the rover Pragyan has already moved 100 meters away from the lander, and both the lander and the rover are functioning well.
The process of putting the rover and lander into sleep mode will commence within one or two days, primarily to help them endure the cold lunar night.
India achieved a significant milestone on August 23 when the lander safely touched down on the lunar surface. Subsequently, the rover began conducting experiments. ISRO reported that the rover has detected the presence of oxygen, aluminum, sulfur, and other materials near the lunar south pole, with investigations ongoing regarding the presence of hydrogen.
