Chandrayaan 2 Loses Communication Just Before Landing: Still A Great Achievement For ISRO

Chandrayaan 2, the unmanned Moon mission was one of the most ambitious space projects being carried out by ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization). The spacecraft had successfully beamed back images from Moon recently. However, it seems that the spacecraft might have lost its land rovers during its landing on the lunar surface. Details are as follows:

Chandryaan-2 Loses Vikram Lander:

ISRO revealed that the Chandrayaan-2 might have lost both Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover. Just a few seconds before the actual touchdown on the lunar surface, the space organization lost its contact with the spacecraft.

ISRO Chief, K Sivan was quoted saying "Vikram lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, the communications from the lander to ground stations were lost."

Currently, ISRO is trying to analyze the data and figure out what caused this issue due to which the communications with the lander was lost. Sivan added, "The data is being analyzed."

Further commenting on the matter, an ISRO official said that the lander might have been lost completely and it is highly unlikely that they will be able to trace it again. "There is no communication with the lander. The official said, "It's as good as lost. There is no hope. Very, very difficult to re-establish contact."

India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said, "There are ups and downs in life. This is not a small achievement. The nation is proud of you. You all have done a big service to nation, science and mankind. I am with you all the way, move forward bravely."

Some Details On The Vikram Lander And Rover Pragyan:

ISRO has named the Vikram lander after Dr. Vikram A Srabhai who is well known for his contributions in the Indian space program. The lander weighs around 1,471 kg and is the first Indian space lander designed to explore the lunar terrain.

It was primarily designed to function for an entire lunar day (equal to 14 days on Earth) following the soft landing on the lunar surface of Moon.

As for the rover Pragyan, it translates to wisdom in Sanskrit language and was designed to explore the craters on Moon. This would have allowed it to collect information on the evolution of the Moon and look for the signs of water in the Polar Regions.

Overall, the Chandrayaan-2 comprises of three different components - the orbiter weighing 2,379 kg (eight payloads), the lander 'Vikram' weighing 1471 kg (four payloads), and the rover 'Pragyan' weighing 27 kg (two payloads).