A view of the Moon as seen by the Chandrayaan-3 lander during insertion into lunar orbit on August 5, 2023 in this screenshot from a video published on August 6, 2023. ISRO/Handout via Portal /File Photo acquire license rights
NEW DELHI, Sept 3 (Portal) – India has shut down its lunar rover, the first ship to reach the moon’s south pole, after completing its two-week experimental mission, the country’s space agency said.
The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft’s Pragyan rover has been “put into sleep mode,” albeit with charged batteries and receiver turned on, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, late Saturday.
“I hope for a successful awakening for another series of tasks!” said ISRO. “Otherwise it will remain there forever as India’s lunar ambassador.”
By landing on the moon, India joined the United States, China and the former Soviet Union. Shortly after Russia’s Luna-25 crashed in a similar attempt, it surpassed them by reaching the rugged South Pole.
The soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 after a failed attempt in 2019 sparked widespread jubilation in the world’s most populous country. The media hailed the landing as India’s greatest scientific achievement.
Pragyan traveled over 100 m (330 feet) and confirmed the presence of sulfur, iron, oxygen and other elements on the moon, ISRO said.
Now India is hoping for the success of a probe launched Saturday to study the sun and observe solar winds that can cause disturbances on Earth, commonly observed as the auroras.
“The satellite is healthy” and in Earth orbit, ISRO said on Sunday, as it prepares for its 1.5 million kilometer (930,000 mile) journey.
Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Edited by William Mallard
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