Coimbatore: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is planning to use nuclear resources to maintain the instruments attached to the rover in warm conditions in future, as the lunar temperature would dip to -150 Celsius, according to P Veeramuthuvel, project director, Chandrayaan-3. He said the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 has revived the student community’s interest in the field of science.

Addressing the media, Veeramuthuvel said the life of Chandrayaan-3 was over. “The electronics attached to the rover were designed to function for a lunar day (14 days) and they were functioning very actively for the said period with the help of solar energy. We were not able to revive the rover, as the instruments were not functioning due to the cold conditions on the lunar surface,” he said.

Pointing out that dust was formed while landing the lander, he said it was not a threat to the mission. “We landed the Chandrayaan-3 at 69.3 degree altitude near the south pole. We were the first to land the lander and operate the rover in the area. Our scientific instruments have collected various data and our scientists have downloaded the same and started analysing it. The output will be published in the coming days.”

Veeramuthuvel said one of the instruments attached to the rover had drilled the lunar surface for a death of 40mm. “We have collected the data of seismic activity and artificial seismic activity. We have recorded the temperature of the lunar and major rock forming and detected sulphur in the lunar. We have taken the first step and our scientists are doing various research and development for the ‘Man on Moon’ project,” he said.

Earlier, Veeramuthuvel addressed the students of Suguna Group of Institutions at Nehru Nagar during an interactive programme. He said technology had played a vital role in the success of the lunar mission. “Placing the lander on the moon’s surface in an upright position, without toppling and crashing, was a complicated task replete with challenges,” he said.

V Lakshminarayanasamy, chairman of Suguna Group of Industries and Institutions; Suguna Lakshminarayanasamy, president of the Suguna Group of Institutions; and the faculty and students of Suguna Group of Institutions participated in the programme.

Later, Veeramuthuvel participated in an event named ‘Inner space to outer space - Illuminating minds on Space Science’ at the Rathinam Group of Institutions at Eachanari. He shared his experience in the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 mission on moon.

Dr Manickam, CEO and secretary of Rathinam Group; Dr B Nagaraj, vice-president of Rathinam Groups, and the faculty and students of the institutions participated in the event.