India's moon rover has concluded its activities on the lunar surface and has been placed in sleep mode, according to India's space mission. This milestone comes less than two weeks after the historic landing near the lunar south pole.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) released a statement on Saturday, confirming, "The rover has successfully completed its assigned tasks and is now safely parked, entering sleep mode." This decision was made as daylight in that lunar region came to an end.

The statement further noted that the rover's scientific instruments have been deactivated, and the data it gathered during its mission has been transmitted back to Earth via the lander.

The Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover were originally designed for operation during a single lunar day, equivalent to 14 days on Earth. Currently, the rover's battery is fully charged, and its solar panel is positioned to receive sunlight during the upcoming lunar sunrise, expected on September 22, 2023. The receiver remains active, and there is hope for a successful reawakening to undertake additional tasks.

However, there has been no information provided regarding the outcomes of the rover's exploration for signs of frozen water on the lunar surface, which could be valuable for future astronaut missions, serving as a potential source of drinking water or even rocket fuel.

Earlier in the week, the space agency disclosed that the moon rover had confirmed the presence of sulfur and detected various other elements. Additionally, the rover's laser-induced spectroscope identified aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen, and silicon on the lunar surface.

It's worth noting that the electronic components aboard the Indian moon mission are not engineered to withstand the extreme cold temperatures, dropping below minus 120 degrees Celsius (minus 184 degrees Fahrenheit), experienced during the lunar nighttime, which can extend for up to 14 Earth days.

Pallava Bagla, a science writer and co-author of books on India's space endeavors, emphasized the rover's limited battery capacity. The collected data has returned to Earth and will initially be analyzed by Indian scientists before being shared with the global scientific community.

Bagla explained that the rover's ability to wake up upon the lunar sunrise is uncertain due to the harsh cold conditions that can cause electronics to fail.

Creating electronic circuits and components capable of enduring the frigid lunar temperatures is a technological challenge that India currently lacks the expertise to address, Bagla noted.

India's recent success in landing on the moon marks a significant achievement, positioning the country as a growing force in technology and space exploration. This accomplishment aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of projecting India as an ascendant nation asserting its place among the world's leading powers.

The mission commenced over a month ago at an estimated cost of $75 million. India's achievement came shortly after Russia's Luna-25, which aimed for the same lunar region, encountered difficulties and crashed. It was intended to be Russia's first successful lunar landing in 47 years.

The head of Russia's state-controlled space corporation, Roscosmos, attributed the failure to a lack of expertise due to the extended hiatus in lunar research following the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.

India, active in space exploration since the 1960s, has launched satellites for both itself and other nations. It successfully placed a satellite into Mars orbit in 2014. India is also planning its inaugural mission to the International Space Station in collaboration with the United States, set to take place next year.