Crucial day for Chandrayaan 3; double win for ISRO if this happens, or else

BENGALURU: ISRO is with great hope as the sun rises on the moon again. The Pragyan rover and lander, which landed on the Moon's South Pole, are currently in sleep mode. Chandrayaan 3 ceased operations on September 3 as the 14-day-long lunar day ended. ISRO is waiting for the lander and rover to wake up from sleep mode as sunrise approaches.

After two weeks of night, it is estimated that the sun will rise again on the moon on September 16 or 17. If the lander and rover are operational again after receiving sunlight, it will become an asset for ISRO. Even if it does not, Chandrayaan 3, which has worked meticulously for a predetermined operational period, has already delivered a lot of valuable information to ISRO.

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
The Rover completed its assignments.

It is now safely parked and set into Sleep mode.
APXS and LIBS payloads are turned off.
Data from these payloads is transmitted to the Earth via the Lander.

Currently, the battery is fully charged.
The solar panel is…

— ISRO (@isro) September 2, 2023

Pragyaan rover has already spent as many days on the lunar surface as predetermined by ISRO. The rover has already travelled 100 meters. The rover's solar panel is configured to wake up at the next sunrise. If that happens, the rover will transmit additional data to ISRO beyond the previously scheduled 14-day operational cycle. However, the main challenge for Chandrayaan 3 is to survive the extreme cold for two weeks. At night, the temperature on the moon drops to -130 degrees.