New Delhi: ISRO scientists are eagerly waiting for the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover of Chandrayaan-3 to wake up from their 14-day sleep during the lunar night, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in the Lok Sabha Thursday.
“All efforts are being made to awaken Vikram and Pragyan from their sleep. When we sleep on earth tonight, Vikram and Pragyan will perhaps wake up on the moon,” Singh said, responding to a discussion on the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission in the lower house of Parliament.
He said the solar batteries of the instruments have been charged fully and scientists are awaiting for the temperature on the lunar surface to rise for the wake-up call to be communicated to Vikram and Pragyan.
The lander and the rover are awaiting the wake-up call to get reactivated.
“Team ISRO is waiting for sunrise near the south pole of the moon and the temperatures to rise,” he said.
After conducting experiments on the moon from August 23 to September 4, the rover and lander modules of Chandrayaan-3 were put to sleep in a bid to survive the extremely frigid atmosphere at the south pole of the moon.
Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole August 23, propelling India to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.
PTI