With Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landing on moon, all focus is now on the studies carried out by Vikram lander and Pragyan rover. Both have a planned mission life of one lunar day, which translated to 14.75 days on earth.
Vikram, which has three payloads will measure the near-surface plasma density, thermal properties of the lunar surface and moonquakes besides delineating the structure of the moon's crust and mantle. Pragyan, which has two payloads, will collect data on the lunar surface and the elemental composition of lunar atmosphere. Pragyan will send the gathered data to Vikram, which has established communication link MOX-ISTRAC (Mission Operations Complex - ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command), Bengaluru. Earlier, Vikram established a two-way communication with the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter deployed in 2019.
Why Vikram and Pragyan has a life of just 14 days?
Both Vikram and Pragyan are designed to work on their solar-powered batteries. However, to harness solar energy, the lander and rover need sunlight. The moon gets sunlight only for two weeks. This 14.75 days of sunlight is followed by another 14.75 days of darkness, or in simple terms, one lunar night.
Hence, ISRO planned the Chandrayaan-3 soft landing at the beginning of the lunar day (14 days on earth), so that the lander and rover can harness solar power and work for the planned operational life. During this dark fortnight, the south pole will have extreme cold weather and the lunar temperature will drop below -238ºC. Without sunlight, Vikram and Pragyan will become inactive.
Will Vikram and Pragyan become active after lunar night?
ISRO scientists have not ruled out the possibility of Vikram and Pragyan becoming active when the sun rises on the moon and solar power becomes available again after the fortnight-long darkness.
