India has pulled the plug on its Moon rover, the first craft to reach the lunar south pole, after it finished a two-week assignment conducting experiments on the satellite’s surface, the country’s space agency said.
The Pragyan rover from the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was “set into Sleep mode” but with its batteries charged and receiver still on, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments!” ISRO said. “Else, it will forever stay there as India’s lunar ambassador.”
By landing on the moon, India joined the United States, China and the former Soviet Union. It went beyond them in reaching the rugged south pole, shortly after Russia’s Luna-25 crashed on a similar attempt.
Also on AF: New Huawei Phone Spurs Fear China Got Around US Chip Curbs
Chandrayaan-3’s soft, textbook touchdown after a failed attempt in 2019 sparked widespread jubilation in the world’s most populous country. The media hailed the landing as India’s greatest scientific feat.
Pragyan travelled over 100m (330ft), confirming the presence of sulphur, iron, oxygen and other elements on the Moon, ISRO said.
Now India is hoping for the success of a probe launched on Saturday to study the sun, observing solar winds that can cause disturbance on earth commonly seen as auroras.
“The satellite is healthy” and in earth orbit, ISRO said on Sunday, as it prepares for its 1.5 million-km (930,000-mile) journey.
- Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara
Read more:
Latest Indian Rocket Aims to Park in Space to Study The Sun
India’s Skyroot to Double Rocket Launches Amid Moon Fever
India Eyes Mars, Venus Next as Moon Rover Begins Lunar Probe
India’s Chandrayaan-3 Makes Historic Landing on the Moon
