Chandrayaan 3’s Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover had been hard at work for 14 days straight on the Moon, after which both modules were put to sleep during the long and cold lunar night.
ISRO has shared a photo of the Vikram Lander Module enjoying its rest period. The cool thing about the images that ISRO shared was they it was taken by Chandrayaan 2’s Lunar Orbiter.
The Chandrayaan 3 mission’s Vikram lander, which recently entered sleep mode, has been captured in an image taken by the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter. In the photograph, the lander can be observed positioned on the lunar surface, near the Moon’s South Pole, as it awaits the arrival of sunlight.
The image of the Chandrayaan 3’s lander, which was shared by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was captured using the Dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR) instrument onboard the Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter. This instrument played a pivotal role in capturing the image of the lander on Wednesday, providing valuable visual data for the ongoing efforts to assess and potentially reactivate the Vikram lander as part of the Chandrayaan 3 mission.
SAR, ISRO explains in a note attached to the post, is an instrument that transmits microwaves in a specific frequency band and receives the same reflected off a surface. Think of it like SONAR or RADAR in very rudimentary terms, but the instrument uses microwaves instead of sound or radio waves.
SAR enables imaging without any illumination, making it highly useful for remote sensing applications on Earth and other celestial bodies. Moreover, it can “see” beyond the surface as well.
ISRO’s DFSAR, a crucial scientific instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, operates using microwaves in the L- and S-band frequency ranges. It stands out as a state-of-the-art instrument, providing the highest resolution polarimetric images currently available on any planetary mission. The longer radar wavelength used by DFSAR enables it to explore subsurface features on the lunar surface down to depths of a few meters.
Over the past four years, DFSAR has consistently delivered high-quality data by capturing lunar surface images. Its primary focus has been on lunar polar science, contributing valuable insights into this region of the Moon.
As for the Vikram Lander and the Pragyan Rover on the Moon, ISRO expects that the two can be reactivated once sunlight returns to the area. ISRO has stated that although the chances of the Rover returning to life may be extremely low, its batteries were completely juiced up when it was sent to sleep.
ISRO is confident that the Vikram lander can be reactivated, provided it has endured the harsh cold conditions on the Moon. This development underscores the continued efforts to re-establish communication and functionality with the Vikram lander as part of the Chandrayaan 3 mission.
