Chandrayaan-3: The lunar night has fallen and thrown deep shadows over Shiv Shakti Point, the spacecraft’s landing location, ending all prospects of reviving Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander and Pragyan rover. On September 30, the Shiv Shakti Point saw the commencement of a lunar night as the sun set.
Shiv Shakti Point is situated 4,200 km from the lunar north pole, halfway between the Simpelius N and Manzinuz C craters. A lunar night is a period of total darkness that lasts for around 14 days on the surface of the Moon. During the lunar night, it is known for the temperature on the surface of the moon to drop as low as -180 degrees Celsius. Both the Vikram Lander and the Pragyan Rover require sunlight to function.
Successfully completing their initial tasks:
The Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover of Chandrayaan-3 entered a state of slumber on September 2 after successfully completing their initial tasks. In the hopes that they might have survived the previous lunar night cycle, numerous attempts have been undertaken since then to revive the lander and the rover.
The ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru and the European station in Kourou had tried to revive the pair. However, the current lunar night signals the end of the expedition because the extreme weather makes it impossible for the lander and rover to live.
Already achieved its objective:
S Somanath, the head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), believes that the Chandrayaan-3 mission is primarily a success because it has already achieved its declared objectives despite numerous unsuccessful attempts to awaken the Vikram-Pragyan pair. The rover has accomplished what was expected, therefore it’s okay if it doesn’t wake up, Somanath told reporters.
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