Chandrayaan-3: How many more days before Pragyan wakes up?

In a historic moment for India's space exploration efforts, Chandrayaan 3, the country's lunar mission, accomplished a successful soft landing on the Moon's south pole on August 23rd, 2023, at 6.04 pm. This achievement has catapulted India into an exclusive league of nations capable of lunar landings, joining the ranks of the United States, Russia, and China.

In exactly 14 days from today (September 8), the mission's Vikram lander and Pragyan rover are expected to rise up again with the lunar sunrise on September 22.

Chandrayaan 3's journey began on July 14, 2023, when it was launched at 2.35 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Shri Hari Kota, Andhra Pradesh. The culmination of the mission was the soft landing executed by the Vikram Lander approximately 600 kilometres from the Moon's south pole.

The timeline of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, as per ISRO's official website and Twitter page, is as follows:

- July 14, 2023: Chandrayaan-3 Launch
- July 15, 2023: 1st Earth-bound Maneuver
- July 17, 2023: 2nd Earth-bound Maneuver
- July 18, 2023: 3rd Earth-bound Maneuver
- July 20, 2023: 4th Earth-bound Maneuver
- July 25, 2023: 5th Earth-bound Maneuver
- July 31/August 1, 2023: Trans-lunar Injection
- August 5, 2023: Lunar Orbit Insertion / 1st Lunar Bound Maneuver
- August 6, 2023: 2nd Lunar-Bound Maneuver
- August 9, 2023: 3rd Lunar-Bound Maneuver
- August 14, 2023: 4th Lunar-Bound Maneuver
- August 16, 2023: 5th Lunar-Bound Maneuver
- August 18, 2023: 1st Lander Deorbit Maneuver
- August 19, 2023: 2nd Lander Deorbit Maneuver
- August 23, 2023: Vikram Rover Landing
- August 24, 2023: Pragyan Rover Deployment
- September 2, 2023: Pragyan Rover Asleep
- September 3, 2023: Vikram Lander 'Hop' and Soft Landing
- September 4, 2023: Vikram Rover Asleep
- September 22, 2023 (tentatively): Pragyan and Vikram Awake Again

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On September 3, 2023, the Vikram lander successfully completed a hop experiment, surpassing its objectives. ISRO shared this update via its official Twitter handle. During the hop, the Vikram lander elevated itself by about 40 cm and safely landed approximately 30-40 cm away from its original position. All rover systems performed flawlessly, including the deployment of the ramp, ChaSTE, and ILSA.

The significance of Vikram Lander's hop lies in its potential utility for future missions, such as bringing lunar samples back to Earth or facilitating human missions.

On September 2, 2023, ISRO reported that the Pragyan Rover had completed its assignments and was placed in a safe sleep mode, with some of its payloads turned off while its receiver remained active. ISRO expressed hope for a successful reawakening of Pragyan for further tasks, adding that if unsuccessful, it would remain on the moon as India's lunar ambassador.

The anticipated awakening of the Pragyan rover is linked to the lunar day-night cycle, which is significantly longer than on Earth, lasting about 29 Earth days. According to NASA's Moon Tracker, the recent lunar sunset at the south pole of the Moon began on September 4, with the next lunar sunrise expected around September 22, 2023. This date is crucial for the Pragyan rover since its solar-powered battery relies on sunlight. The rover's solar panel has been oriented to receive sunlight during the upcoming lunar day, ensuring its battery remains charged.

With the Moon's south pole enduring approximately 14 Earth days of darkness and extreme temperatures dropping to as low as -200 degrees Celsius, the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover must demonstrate their resilience to these harsh conditions in order to awaken and continue their mission as India's lunar ambassadors.

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