Bengaluru, September 9
The ‘Vikram’ lander lies on the lunar surface as a single piece, unbroken and in a tilted position following a hard-landing while efforts to re-establish link with the probe were on, an ISRO official said today. Vikram, which encases rover ‘Pragyan’, went out of contact during its final descent, when it was just 2.1 km above the lunar surface, in the early hours of September 7.
“The lander is there (on lunar surface) as a single piece, not broken into pieces. It’s in a tilted position,” an ISRO official associated with the mission claimed. Though the lander hit the surface hard while landing, it was still very close to the scheduled touchdown site, as per the images sent by the orbiter’s onboard camera, he said.
“We are making all-out efforts to see whether communication can be re-established with the lander. An ISRO team is the on the job at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC),” the official said. The mission life of the lander and rover is one lunar day, which is equal to 14 earth days.
ISRO Chairman K Sivan had said on Saturday that the space agency would try to restore link with the lander for 14 days. An ISRO official said chances of restoring link with the lander were bleak since its system functionality was a pre-requisite to achieve that.
“Unless and until everything is intact (in lander), it’s very difficult (to re-establish contact). Chances are less. Only if it had soft-landing, and if all systems functioned, then only communication can be restored. Things are bleak as of now.”
Another space agency official felt that chances did exist for restoring link, however, listed the limitations involved. Recalling ISRO’s experience of recovering a spacecraft that went out of contact in the geostationary orbit, he said the lander’s case was dissimilar. In the case of Vikram, “that kind of operational flexibility is not there,” since it is already on the lunar surface and it cannot be reoriented, he said.
A vital aspect is positioning of antennas and these have to be pointed towards either the ground station or the orbiter, he said. “Such an operation is extremely difficult. We will have to keep our fingers crossed.” The official said, however, the lander’s generating power was not an issue since it had solar panels all around it and encompassed internal batteries too which were not used much. — PTI
Pakistan’s first female astronaut congratulates ISRO
Karachi: Amid the Indo-Pak war of words over Kashmir, Pakistan’s first female astronaut Namira Salim has congratulated India and ISRO for its Chandrayaan-2 mission, saying the attempt to make a landing on the Moon was itself a “giant leap” for South Asia and as well as for the entire global space industry. “The Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission is indeed a giant leap for South Asia which not only makes the region but the entire global space industry proud,” Salim said in a statement to Karachi-based magazine Scientia. Salim is the first Pakistani to go to space aboard the Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. PTI
Mathura’s ‘Chhappan Bhog’ to be dedicated to Chandrayaan-2
Mathura: Mathura's famous 'Chhappan Bhog' on September 12 will be dedicated to the Chandrayaan-2 project and ISRO scientists involved in the Moon mission, an officer-bearer of the organising committee said on Monday. PTI
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