Inspenet, October 1, 2023.
Indian scientists have lost hope of restoring communication with Chandrayaan-3, which landed on the south pole of the Moon in August after a 40-day trip and which entered a shutdown mode to resist the extreme cold of the night on the surface of the satellite.
It should be noted that the Indian space agency’s probe spent more than a week collecting information on the lunar surface . However, on September 2, it activated its “sleep mode” for the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover. This was done so that they would enter a state of hibernation during the lunar mission and protect their electrical components from the extremely cold conditions of the lunar night, which lasts two weeks and in which temperatures can drop to -250°C.
For their part, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) were hopeful that the spacecraft could withstand the extreme conditions and reactivate around September 22, when the Moon would be illuminated by sunlight and the panels solar panels could recharge robot batteries; But to date, scientists have failed to establish communication with the robots and have expressed that the prospects for their revival are diminishing.
According to experts, the chances that the devices can withstand these extremely low temperatures are only 50%.
Time is running out for Chandrayaan-3
“Efforts to establish communication with the Vikram lander and the Pragyaan rover will continue,” the team said last week on X. Since then, there has been no official statement.
The Indian team has announced that they will continue attempts to establish contact with the spacecraft until September 30 , when the next sunset on the Moon is scheduled. The successful Chandrayaan-3 mission made India the first country to reach the south polar lunar region and the fourth country to land on the Moon, reinforcing its position as a world leader in space exploration.
During its week of exploration on the lunar surface, the Pragyaan rover embarked on what ISRO described as “the search for lunar secrets.” During its 100-meter journey, it transmitted images and data to Earth and confirmed the presence of elements such as sulfur, iron, oxygen and others on the Moon.
Source: https://amp.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20230926/india-perdida-sonda-espacial-polo-sur-luna-92577929
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