India’s Lunar Rover Robot ‘In Sleep Mode’ on Moon’s South Pole: Concerns Rise as Contact Lost

Jakarta –

India’s lunar rover robot has been in ‘sleep mode’ since September 2 after its successful landing mission on the south pole of the Moon. Now, the situation is worrying.

On that date, the robotic lander Vikram and rover Pragyan were programmed to hibernate and protect electrical components during brutal ‘lunar night’ conditions, lasting two weeks and causing temperatures on the Moon to drop to -250 degrees Celsius.

However, concerns arose when the probe “didn’t wake up” anymore and lost contact with India’s space center, so the probe has so far not been able to be active again.

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This problem was raised by Indian Space Agency (ISRO) scientists who explained that they had lost contact with the probe. Until now, ISRO is still trying to make contact.

“Efforts have been made to establish communication with lander Vikram and rover Pragyan to ascertain their wake conditions. As of now, no signal has been received from them. Efforts to establish contact will continue,” ISRO wrote in a tweet on their official X account @ isro.

In the initial plan initiated by ISRO, their lunar lander was designed to be active again on September 22 after receiving light.

However, until the planned time had passed, the vehicle had not yet become active again.

ISRO also claims that the lander has the ability to survive in very extreme conditions. The materials used in the vehicle are also claimed to be able to withstand the Moon’s temperatures, which can become very cold.

Previously, the lunar lander had successfully traveled for 40 days to the Moon. Before entering sleep mode, this probe also carried out the task of collecting data from the lunar surface in the first week after landing.

ISRO scientists say that hopes are fading for the robot’s revival. According to them, there is about a 50% chance that the device can survive freezing temperatures.

*This article was written by Argya D. Maheswara, participant of the Merdeka Campus Certified Internship Program at detikcom

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2023-09-26 09:00:07
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