ISRO Postpones Resuming Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover Missions on Moon with Chandrayaan-3

Due to certain reasons, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has rescheduled the activation of the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover on the moon from September 22 to September 23. Nilesh Desai, the Director of the Space Applications Centre, provided this explanation for the change in plans.

“ISRO’s plan was to try to reactivate Vikram and Pragya tonight, but for some reason they are not doing it today and will try tomorrow,” Desai told X.

The Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover successfully landed on the lunar surface on August 23. They are located at a place called Shiv Shakti Point on the Moon.

However, they had been put to sleep earlier this month after their moon tests. Rover went to sleep on September 2nd and Counter followed on September 4th.

Chandrayaan 3 discoveries so far

When they were active, they did amazing lunar experiments. The Pragyan rover traveled more than 100 meters on the surface of the moon and found sulfur there. The Vikram lander also conducted groundbreaking research on the lunar plasma environment in the south polar region.

Initially, ISRO wanted the rover to travel 300-350 meters, but it has traveled only 105 meters so far. Nevertheless, the mission has been a success as the Vikram lander has even managed to jump onto the lunar surface, a significant step for future lunar missions and human exploration.

Now, if the solar panels receive enough sunlight to successfully charge the batteries, the mission will continue and scientists will collect more data from the lunar surface.

Also, former Isro chief K Sivan expressed hope for the revival of Vikram lander and Pragyan rover. He mentioned that it all depends on the system, especially the small electronic parts like the transmitters and receivers, and whether they can withstand the cold temperatures of the moon. If they do, the mission continues successfully.