India Now On The Moon. What Happens to Vikram Lander, Pragyan Rover After 14 Days?

New Delhi: 

Chandrayaan-3 has landed on the Moon after “20 minutes of terror” and the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover – carrying six scientific payloads between them – have one lunar day, or 14 Earth days, to gather enough data to satisfy the curiosities of scientists across the world.

This deadline is critical because after a fortnight the solar-powered Pragyan rover – which made its mark on the Moon late last night with ISRO declaring ‘India takes a walk on the Moon’ – will slow down as this is the extent of the ‘sunlight cycle’ on the lunar surface.

Vikram and Pragyan will have 14 days only before night falls on the Moon.

In other words, after 14 Earth days, the Moon will have a night that will last another 14 Earth days. During this time the rover may not be fully functional as there is no solar power and, more importantly, night temperatures can reach a destructive -208 degrees Fahrenheit or – 133 degrees Celsius and the rover, the lander and the payloads will likely have severe trouble operating.