The rover entered sleep mode on September 2, followed by the lander on September 4. While the payloads were turned off, the receivers remained active in the expectation that ISRO might regain communication.
By-Vikas Kumar
No Signals from Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander and Pragyan rover
ISRO, which had aimed to wake up the Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander and Pragyan rover on September 2, reports that it hasn’t received any signals from either of them, despite ongoing attempts to re-establish communication.
Efforts have been made to establish communication with the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to ascertain their wake-up condition. As of now, no signals have been received from them. Efforts to establish contact will continue,” ISRO posted on X
Put on sleep mode
On September 2, the rover was put into sleep mode; two days later on September 4, the lander was also put to sleep, following the end of one lunar day. “Vikram will fall asleep next to Pragyan once the solar power is depleted and the battery is drained. Hoping for their awakening, around September 22, 2023,” ISRO had said on September 4.
Prior to entering sleep mode, the lander’s payloads were deactivated, but ISRO kept both Vikram’s and Pragyan’s receivers active in anticipation of re-establishing communication with them.
Nilesh M. Desai, the director of the Space Applications Centre, noted ongoing efforts to establish communication with the lander and rover, emphasizing that this reconnection could occur at any moment.
Lunar temperature
After the conclusion of one lunar day and as the sun sets on the moon, the lunar surface temperature may drop to below -200°C. ISRO chairman S. Somanath previously mentioned that while such extreme cold poses challenges for batteries and electronics, they conducted tests indicating that these components are likely to endure even in these harsh conditions.