The recent efforts of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to reestablish communication with its lunar lander, Vikram, which carried the small rover Pragyaan, have thus far been unsuccessful. The lander was supposed to communicate with Earth as a new lunar day dawned.
As reported by the BBC, it is possible that the extreme cold temperatures during the lunar night, which can drop to as low as -200 to -250 degrees Celsius, may have damaged the batteries. This means that the spacecraft might never “wake up.”
India has stated that it will continue its efforts.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission marked a historic achievement for India as it successfully landed a spacecraft near the lunar South Pole. Only the United States, the Soviet Union, and China have previously achieved lunar landings or rover missions.
After landing, the spacecraft spent two weeks collecting data. When the lunar night arrived, the vehicle entered a “sleep” mode for two weeks to be “awakened” with the start of a new lunar day.
Theoretically, the batteries were expected to last until September 22 when the Sun would rise again to provide energy.
