THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The attempts to bring Chandrayaan 3's Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, sleeping at the Shivashakti point on the moon's south pole, back to life wasn't successful on Saturday. Both remain silent despite ISRO commands from the Mission Control Centre in Bangalore to wake them up.

The lander and the rover are in a situation as if taken out of the freezer as the night temperature on the moon is minus 200 degrees. As the sun rose on Wednesday, ISRO waited for the heat to rise and when the temperature reached minus 10, the reactivation effort began to wake it up from sleep mode. The wake-up circuit is activated. Scientists are expecting the lander and rover to wake up and start sending signals at any moment. It can happen at any time depending on the temperature rise. Batteries are fully charged. Signal systems and instruments on the lander and rover have thermal protection systems. That is what gives hope. There is a 50 percent chance of it not waking up for some other reason.

The lander and rover that landed on the South Pole of the Moon on August 23 are the pride of India and ISRO. It all worked fine till September 2nd. Hundreds of data were sent to Earth, which is being analyzed. The rover and the lander were put into sleep mode on September 2 and the lander on September 4 as the fourteen-day night began on the moon. Awakening both will be a historic achievement and will empower more space missions. If not awakened, India's victory memorials will remain forever at the Shivashakti Point on the Moon's South Pole.