(Image source from: Twitter.com/isro)
Vikram Lander on Monday once again had a soft landing on the Moon and went to sleep mode. Now the payloads have been switched off and will come to active mode on September 22nd.
The samples will be brought back to Earth for further study, hop test will also help for human missions. On Monday at around 08:00 AM, payloads were switched off, that is Vikram Lander slipped into sleep mode.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
— ISRO (@isro) September 4, 2023
Vikram Lander is set into sleep mode around 08:00 Hrs. IST today.
Prior to that, in-situ experiments by ChaSTE, RAMBHA-LP and ILSA payloads are performed at the new location. The data collected is received at the Earth.
Payloads are now switched off.… pic.twitter.com/vwOWLcbm6P
In-situ experiments were performed by ChaSTE, RAMBHA-LP and ILSA payloads before going to sleep mode. Payloads and ramp of the lander were folded back before the hop test, confirmed ISRO sources. Vikram Lander has also exceeded its mission objectives.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
— ISRO (@isro) September 4, 2023
Vikram soft-landed on , again!
Vikram Lander exceeded its mission objectives. It successfully underwent a hop experiment.
On command, it fired the engines, elevated itself by about 40 cm as expected and landed safely at a distance of 30 – 40 cm away.… pic.twitter.com/T63t3MVUvI
Vikram lander fired the engines and elevated themselves to about 30cm to 40 cm away after they fired the engines with the command. Pragyan and Vikram both are in sleep mode until the sun is back again. Both are in sleep mode because the batteries are drained and will awaken on September 22nd 2023. Pragyan and Vikram's payloads were awake for 14 days and finally went to sleep mode after the hop test.
ISRO will kick-start the lander once again days after touching down on the lunar surface.