Darkness Descends at Shiv Shakti Point: Will Pragyan Rover and Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-3 Reactivate?

ISRO’s hopes for the revival of the Chandrayaan-3 mission are diminishing, marking a significant setback. Although the mission successfully accomplished its initial objectives, including a Moon landing, the expectation was that the Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover would continue conducting experiments on the lunar surface. Unfortunately, since being put into sleep mode before the lunar night in early September, attempts to re-establish communication have been unsuccessful, even with the return of sunlight to the Shiv Shakti Point. As the lunar night begins on September 30, the chances of revival have become even more unlikely.

The lunar night, which lasts about 14 Earth days, brings extreme cold and total darkness to the lunar surface, with temperatures dropping to about -200 degrees Celsius, too severe for the Vikram lander and Pragya Rover to operate. Therefore, they were put into sleep mode to protect the electrical components. The moonlit night is a major challenge for Vikram and Pragyan, both of whom are addicted to sunlight. However, day by day the hope that these crafts will survive is diminishing.

Earlier, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) expressed optimism about the spacecraft’s survival, but as the next lunar night approaches, hopes are fading fast.

ISRO took to X (formerly Twitter) to express hope for the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover: “Chandrayaan-3 mission: Efforts to contact Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to ascertain their wake-up status. So far no signals from them. Contact work let’s continue.”

Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on the moon on August 23 marked India’s daring lunar exploration journey, which was celebrated as a major achievement in the country’s space programme.

As the world waits for a sign of life from the dormant spacecraft, the mission has already brought back valuable lunar surface data. Payloads such as APXS and LIBS have collected a huge amount of data and confirmed the presence of sulfur, improving our understanding of the Moon.

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