A day on Moon lasts for 14 Earth days, followed by 14 Earth nights. However, Moon does not have an atmosphere to moderate temperature swings, as is the case on our Planet. This is why lunar temperatures flip between 248° Fahrenheit (120° Celsius) during daytime, and -292° F (-180° C) at night. Will the Chandrayaan-3 battery on Pragyan rover survive deep-freezing Moon nights? Especially given areas in permanent shadow can chill down to as low as -400° F (-240° C) in the dark.
How Vulnerable Is the Chandrayaan-3 Battery?
Interesting Engineering confirms Indian Space Research Organization responsible for the mission, decided not to incorporate any radioisotope heater units on the rover. This would leave equipment running on the Chandrayaan-3 battery vulnerable to catastrophic freezing, although the technology is different this time.
- Traditional Moon lander technology uses radioisotope heater units to keep Moon rover batteries and equipment warm.
- But Chandrayaan-3 only has a single rover battery to initially deploy a solar panel. This then becomes its sole source of energy.
To date, Indian Space Research Organization has not commented on the lack of radioisotope heater units. Although the Chandrayaan-3 Pragyan rover’s initial performance has been impressive, especially given it only weighs in at some 57 pounds.
Sleep Well During Moon Nights Pragyan
The bots on board Pragyan saw to it that the Chandrayaan-3 battery was fully charged, before it shut down systems for its first lunar night. The motors stopped purring, and for now even the LED lights may have stopped flickering.
We’re all waiting for 22 September to dawn, when Sun peeks out over Moon’s horizon, and Chandrayaan-3’s rover solar panel stirs. We’re all hoping this will be the case, for that will be a triumph for the world’s most populous nation, finally fully entering the space age.
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