India rover completes moon walk as scientists look for signs of frozen water
India’s moon rover has completed its walk on the lunar surface and been put into sleep mode less than two weeks after its historic landing near the lunar south pole, India’s space mission said.
“The rover completes its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into sleep mode,’’ with daylight on that part of the moon coming to an end, the Indian Space Research Organization said in a statement on Saturday.
The rover’s payloads are turned off and the data it collected has been transmitted to the Earth via the lander, the statement said.
The Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover were expected to operate only for one lunar day, which is equal to 14 days on Earth.
“Currently, the battery is fully charged. The solar panel is oriented to receive the light at the next sunrise expected on September 22, 2023. The receiver is kept on. Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments!” the statement said.
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There was no word on the outcome of the rover searches for signs of frozen water on the lunar surface that could help future astronaut missions, as a potential source of drinking water or to make rocket fuel.
Earlier this week, the space agency said the moon rover confirmed the presence of sulphur and detected several other elements. The rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument also detected aluminium, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon on the surface, it said.
The Indian Express newspaper said the electronics on board the Indian moon mission are not designed to withstand very low temperatures, less than minus 120 degrees Celsius (minus 184 degrees Fahrenheit) during the nighttime on the moon. The lunar night also extends for as long as 14 days on Earth.
Pallava Bagla, a science writer and co-author of books on India’s space exploration, said the rover has limited battery power.
The data is back on Earth and will be analysed by Indian scientists as a first look and then by the global community, he said.
By sunrise on the moon, the rover may or may not wake up because the electronics die at such cold temperatures, Bagla said.
“Making electronic circuits and components that can survive the deep cold temperature of the moon, that technology doesn’t exist in India,” he said.
The mission began more than a month ago at an estimated cost of US$75 million.
Active since the 1960s, India has launched satellites for itself and other countries, and successfully put one in orbit around Mars in 2014. India is planning its first mission to the International Space Station next year, in collaboration with the US.