‘Indian ambassador to Moon’ shuts down Chandrayaan-3 rover: Space Agency

India’s space agency ISRO said the world’s first rover to reach the moon’s south pole has been shut down after a scheduled two-week experiment.

ISRO said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the Pragyaan rover, which was launched from the Chandrayaan-3 mission, has been put into ‘sleep mode’. However, its battery is fully charged and its receiver is on.

The post added: ‘He is expected to be active again for another series of further assignments. Otherwise, it will always be there as India’s ambassador on the moon.’

After the successful landing on the moon, India has joined the space club of the US, China and the former Soviet Union.

India has surpassed these countries in reaching the rugged South Pole. However, while trying to do the same, the Russian mission called Luna 25 crashed on the moon.

According to the news agency Reuters, after the successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 after a failed attempt in 2019, there was widespread jubilation in the world’s most populous country.

The media called this landing India’s biggest scientific achievement.

According to ISRO, Pragyan traveled more than 100 meters (330 feet) and confirmed the presence of sulphur, iron, oxygen and other elements on the moon.

Now India has launched another mission ‘Surya’ into space on Saturday to observe the Sun, which will observe solar waves that can disturb the Earth.

“Its Soria satellite is in good condition and in Earth orbit,” ISRO said on Sunday.

This space mission is preparing for a 1.5 million km long journey towards the Sun.