India lunar rover completes 14-day scientific program, is put into ‘sleep’ mode, to be 'awakened' on next lunar day

India's Pragyan rover, the first spacecraft to land on the lunar south pole, has completed a two-week program of research and experiments after which it entered sleep mode, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.

"The Rover completed its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into Sleep mode,” ISRO announces on X—formerly Twitter.

"Currently, the battery is fully charged. The solar panel is oriented to receive the light at the next sunrise expected on September 22, 2023. The receiver is kept on," the aforesaid Indian space agency added, and expressed hope that the rover could be successfully awakened “for another set of assignments.”

The Pragyan lunar rover was brought to the lunar surface on August 23 as part of India's Chandrayan-3 mission on the
Vikram lander. it is named after the famous physicist and astronomer Vikram Sarabha, who is considered the father of Indian astronautics.

According to the head of the ISRO, during its stay on the Moon, Pragyan has covered an area of 100 meters. During the research, the rover found sulfur, aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen, and silicon.

On August 23, the Indian lunar rover sent the first photo of the Moon's surface to Earth, and on August 28, Pragyan sent the first data that changes the understanding of the lunar south pole.