"Second phase of Chandrayaan 3 is about to take off in next few hours": Union MoS Jitendra Singh

New Delhi [India], September 21 (ANI): Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh on Thursday informed that the second phase of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission is about to begin in the next few hours adding that Pragyan Rover and Vikram lander are awaiting and will wakeup after facing sunrays. 
Addressing Lok Sabha on Day 4 of the Parliament Special session, Jitendra Singh said," After a few hours when Moon will face the Sun, our Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover will wake up. We have arranged solar batteries and panels have been set in such a direction that when Vikram faces sunrays a communication circuit will get activated. Both Vikram and Pragyan are awaiting a wake-up call."
"When the country will be celebrating the passage of Women Reservation Bill tomorrow, India will also become the first country where a rover and lander will sleep and wake up on the south pole of the Moon," he added.   
After a 40-day journey into space, the Chandrayaan-3 lander, 'Vikram', touched down on August 23 at the uncharted lunar South Pole making India the first country to do so. After transversing over 100 meters on the lunar surface from the Shiv Shakti Point, the touchdown spot of the Vikram lander on the lunar surface, the Pragyan Rover was safely parked and set into sleep mode on September 2. 
Rajnath Singh termed Chandrayaan-3 as a huge achievement for the entire nation and stated that there are many developed countries that, despite being more resource-rich, are trying to reach the Moon, while India has become the first country to reach the South Pole of the Moon with limited resources.
He credited the success to the intellectual prowess and dedication of ISRO scientists towards the development of the nation. India is today among the leading nations in the field of science due to their relentless efforts, said the release.
India also became only the fourth nation after the US, Russia and China to successfully conduct a lunar landing mission. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft put down the Vikram lander on the lunar surface, tilting to a horizontal position ahead of landing. The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14. (ANI)