Last week, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) disclosed that their attempts to “initiate contact with the Vikram lander and Pragyan to assess their status upon waking up” yielded no signals. While ISRO continues its efforts to establish communication with the rover and lander, S Somanath, the ISRO chief, mentioned that scientists have the capacity to wait throughout the entire lunar day, which spans 14 Earth days, given the continuous sunlight during that period.
The temperature on the lunar surface drops to as low as -200 degrees Celsius when the sun sets there and the mercury starts rising after 14 days when the Sun stars hover over the horizon.
ISRO scientists had anticipated reawakening the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s lander and rover by approximately September 22, coinciding with the lunar sunrise near the Moon’s south pole. Regrettably, their attempts to make contact proved unsuccessful. “As of now, no signals have been received, but I cannot rule out the possibility,” stated Somanath to the Times of India, expressing optimism for potential developments in the upcoming 14 days.