If Pragyan Rover and Vikram Lander Succeed, Chandrayaan-3 Will Be a Success
Yesterday, September 22, marked a significant day for the Chandrayaan-3 mission as the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) embarked on its mission to revive the Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover. These modules have been dormant on the Moon’s South Pole for the past 14 days, enduring extreme temperatures as low as -200 degrees Celsius during the lunar night. Although there were initial reports of potential delays, ISRO director Nilesh Desai confirmed that the revival process was indeed underway. Unfortunately, no signals have been received from the modules despite ISRO’s efforts. While the situation remains uncertain, a former ISRO chief has offered a glimmer of hope to those eagerly awaiting updates.
K. Sivan, former chairman of ISRO, spoke to ANI and revealed what it would take to revive both Vikram and Pragyan. He said: “All the systems are working, it will be fine. It all depends on the system, there are mechanical systems, solar panels, batteries, there are no problems with all of them. However, the small electrical components like transmitters and receivers, whether they can survive the cold temperature, we have to see. If they will survive, we can surely wake them up.”
In short, if “small electrical components such as transmitters and receivers” can survive the cold temperature, both the Pragyan Rover and the Vikram Lander will successfully revive.
He also praised the efforts of ISRO scientists and emphasized that this is not the end. “Many more new sciences will come. The Chandrayaan 1 data brought a lot of discoveries, so I hope there will be many more. Scientists keep trying, and new discoveries will come.”
ISRO is waiting for signals from Chandrayaan-3 modules
ISRO’s Nilesh Desai-based Space Applications Center (SAC) director has shed light on the revival of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the awakening of the Vikram Lander and the Pragyan Rover. He revealed that the efforts are underway as the entire process is automatic and the ISRO command center only needs to wait for signals from the modules.
“As is clear from ISRO’s tweet, communication with Lander and Rover is ongoing. It is auto-reviving and sending signals. So far no signals have come,” he told ANI.
The scientist also said that if the modules could survive the extreme cold of -200 degrees Celsius, they would eventually send out signals, and restarting the mission should be possible. He added that it was a 50-50 chance.
Mylswamy Annadurai, a former ISRO scientist, was more hopeful about the possibility of the Pragyan Rover waking up, but was skeptical about the lander. He emphasized that the rover was tested for similar metrics, but nothing definite could be said about the Vikram Lander.
