Here’s Why Vikram Lander Can Wake Up After Spending A Fortnight On The Moon In Minus 200 Degrees

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will attempt to wake up the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover that the Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully delivered to the Moon's south pole.

After successfully conducting the majority of the missions, ISRO put the lander and the rover in "Sleep Mode". After spending 15 Earth days in hibernation, they would now resume their work. Here's why and how the Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover could survive the harsh lunar atmosphere and temperatures that dipped below -200 Degrees Celcius.

Vikram Lander And Pragyan Rover Are On Standby On The Moon

After successfully landing on the south pole of the Moon, the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover accomplished most of the mission objectives.

After spending 14 Earth days on the Moon, ISRO put the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to sleep. Specifically speaking neither the rover nor the lander have been completely deactivated.

ISRO first put the Pragyan Rover to sleep on September 2, 2023. The Vikram Lander continued to conduct experiments and made multiple observations about the Moon and its surface and even sub-surface before entering hibernation on September 4, 2023.

Both devices are currently in semi-sleep mode. This essentially means the majority of the instruments used in experiments have been deactivated and switched off. The receivers and their control mechanisms are, however, operational.

Here's Why Vikram Lander And Pragyan Rover Could Successfully Wake Up

The Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover rely on solar power to recharge their onboard batteries. For the first 14 days, their solar panels were facing the Sun.

However, for the past fortnight, they were unable to receive any solar light. This has depleted Vikram's batteries. Anticipating this beforehand, the Pragyan Rover's batteries have been fully charged before putting it to sleep.

The most challenging hurdle ISRO fears is ensuring the lander and the rover survive the minus 200-degree Celsius surface temperature for 14 days. Such harsh conditions could negatively affect the delicate instruments and sensors.

ISRO has indicated that the team working on the Chandrayaan-3 mission has run multiple simulations that mimicked the lunar atmosphere and temperatures. Both the Vikram Lander And Pragyan Rover have passed these tests and exceeded the set parameters.

Once the sun rises on the Moon, the solar panels should start recharging the lander's batteries and warm the electronics. ISRO is now waiting to send commands that check if they will respond. Thereafter, the rover would be moved a few more meters on the lunar surface, ISRO scientists indicated.