Watch: A double feat for Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander as it 'hops' and lands again

Indian space agency ISRO said Monday (Sept. 4) that its Vikram lander exceeded its mission objectives and landed a second time on the lunar surface, as part of 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," ISRO posted on X.

The space agency further said it was necessary to demonstrate the possibility of "future sample return and human missions!."

"All systems performed nominally and are healthy. Deployed Ramp, ChaSTE and ILSA were folded back and redeployed successfully after the experiment," the post added.

What about Pragyan rover?

Earlier, ISRO informed on X that its Pragyar rover has been put to sleep ahead of the harsh lunar night that lasts for a fortnight.“Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The Rover completed its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into Sleep mode. APXS and LIBS payloads are turned off. Data from these payloads is transmitted to the Earth via the Lander,” the space agency posted on X.

ISRO’s next focus is to revive the mission once the next lunar day begins on September 22. Its battery is fully charged and its solar panels are aligned in a way to help it receive solar light.

“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. Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments! Else, it will forever stay there as India’s lunar ambassador,” ISRO posted.

Achievements so far

So far, Pragyan has confirmed the presence of sulphur on the Moon's south pole. It has also detected other elements such as aluminium, silicon, oxygen, and manganese, which can really help research efforts on our home planet.

Additionally, the lander also recorded a “natural event” on the Moon on August 26, details of which will be released by ISRO "upon investigation.”

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