Chandrayaan-3 LIVE Updates till date
- Chandrayaan-3 Communication: Despite efforts by ISRO, no signals have been received from the Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover. They are parked at the Shivshakti Point on the Moon, and ISRO hopes the equipment will reawaken with the rise of the Sun.
- Landing & Current State: Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander successfully touched down on the Moon’s uncharted South Pole on August 23, making India the first country to achieve this. The rover, Pragyan, traveled over 100 meters before being put into sleep mode on September 2.
- Revival Process: Nilesh M Desai, Director of the Space Applications Centre (SAC), informed that the revival of Vikram and Pragyan is automatic. The solar-powered equipment should start sending signals once they are charged by the sunrise, which happened on the lunar surface on September 22.
- Lunar Night & Temperature: Both the lander and rover went into sleep mode in early September ahead of the lunar night. The temperatures can go beyond -150°C, making it a challenging environment for electronics. The lunar day, which lasts about 14 Earth days, began on September 22, so the revival attempts are currently underway.
- Chandrayaan-3’s Achievements: The mission has already made several observations since its arrival. The LIBS instrument confirmed the presence of Sulphur on the lunar surface, and other instruments detected minor elements and monitored the near-surface plasma content.
- Future Objectives: If the rover and lander are successfully revived, the main objective is to confirm the presence of water on the Moon. Former ISRO scientist Tapan Mishra mentioned that detecting hydrogen would conclusively prove the existence of water on the lunar surface.
- Other Updates: Apart from the Chandrayaan-3 updates, there are tensions between India and Canada due to allegations from the Canadian Prime Minister regarding the potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Table of Contents
This summary provides an overview of the Chandrayaan-3 updates and the situation as of September 23, 2023.