Chandrayaan-3: Pragyan rover completes its assignments, set into sleep mode

Atter transversing over 100 meters on the lunar surface from the Shiv Shakti Point, the touchdown spot of the Vikram lander on the lunar surface, the Pragyan Rover has been safely parked and set into sleep mode, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Saturday.

Taking to 'X' (formerly known as Twitter), ISRO said, "The Rover completed its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into Sleep mode. APXS and LIBS payloads are turned off. Data from these payloads is transmitted to the Earth via the Lander. Currently, the battery is fully charged."

The space agency also informed that the next sunrise is expected on September 22, 2023, and hoped for a successful awakening for another set of assignments.

"The solar panel is oriented to receive the light at the next sunrise expected on September 22, 2023. The receiver is kept on. Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments! Else, it will forever stay there as India's lunar ambassador," ISRO said.

Earlier on Thursday, ISRO said that the Pragyan Rover module of the Vikram lander has recorded a natural event on the south pole of the moon.

Taking to 'X' (formerly known as Twitter), ISRO said, "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: In-situ Scientific Experiments Instrument for the Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) payload on Chandrayaan 3 Lander -- the first Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology-based instrument on the moon -- has recorded the movements of Rover and other payloads. Additionally, it has recorded an event, appearing to be a natural one, on August 26, 2023. The source of this event is under investigation".

Chandrayaan-3's Rover ramped down from the Vikram lander to the lunar surface on August 25.

Chandrayaan-3 mission has three components- The propulsion module, which transferred the lander and the rover module to 100 kilometres of lunar orbit, the Lander module, which was responsible for the soft landing of the lunar craft and the Rover module, which is for exploring components on the moon.

India took a giant leap on August 23, as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon's South pole, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat.

The country became the fourth- after the US, China, and Russia - to have successfully landed on the moon's surface.

Meanwhile, ISRO is all set to launch its solar mission, Adity-L1 on September 2. This is India's first solar mission aiming to study the sun.