By Puran Choudhary
Express News Service
Chandrayaan’s missions are not exclusively in hibernation, with the Vikram lander and PragyaAN rover sleeping during nighttime, and Chandrathan-2′ orbiter keeping track of its lunar orbit.
Following a partial triumph in the Chandrayaan-2 mission, the Pradhan orbiter has been orbiting the moon for four years since its launch on July 22, 2019, at Tiranga Point.
ISRO announced that the Pradhan orbiter would aid in communication between Chandrayaan-3 and its earth-based stations to ensure the safety of Vikram lander and PragyaAN rover during their 14-day mission.
TNIE was informed by ISRO scientists that the orbiter is in good shape and is being recorded at the Deep Space Network’s Byalalu site near Bengaluru. Additionally, the space agency has released pictures of Vikram, which was captured on camera by the Chandrayaan-2 orbiters while it was sleeping on the south pole of the moon. This helped to establish a connection between the two satellites and transmitting information to ground stations.
The Dual-Frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (DFSAR) instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter was used to capture an image of the lander, which was taken on September 6, 2023. The image shows a lit up area when the spacecraft was put into sleep mode, according to ISRO.
The physical attributes of the target can be determined by DFSAR with minimal light and distance.
The mission of Chandrayaan is not in hibernation, as the Vikram lander and Pragyaun rover are currently sleeping, while the Pradhan orbiter has been orbiting the moon for four years.