As a new lunar day begins, India’s space agency ISRO says it is attempting to communicate with its moon lander and rover but has not yet received any signals.
In August, the Vikram lander carrying a Pragyan rover reached the moon’s south pole, gathering data and images for two weeks before being put into ‘sleep mode’ at lunar nightfall.
According to international media reports, the ISRO hoped the batteries would recharge and reawaken modules when the sun rose, but the extreme cold of the lunar night may have damaged them.
On Friday, ISRO posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that efforts to establish communication with the Vikram lander and Pragyaan rover will continue.
India recently made history with its Chandrayaan-3 mission, becoming the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and joining an elite club of countries that achieved a soft landing on the moon including the US and China,
The landing was planned to coincide with the start of a lunar day, allowing Vikram and Pragyaan two weeks of sunlight to work with.
One day on the moon is equivalent to over four weeks on Earth, with the day and night each lasting 14 days.
The ISRO reported that both landers had completed their assignments and expressed hope for reawakening at the start of the next lunar day, citing China’s Chang’e4 lander and Yutu2 rover as examples of successful sunrise awakenings.
