On 7th September 2019 at 01:55 IST, the Chandrayaan 2 Vikram Lander began normal landing. Its four thrusters descended successfully towards the lunar surface as planned to bring down deceleration many folds. Yet, the Vikram failed to land at the desired lunar site.
ISRO Lost Control of Lander
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) team lost control over Vikram’s communication during its final descent. This last landing distance was only 2.1 km from the lunar surface. Although scientists tried to reinitiate contacts with Lander, they think Chandrayaan 2 Vikram Lander with the lunar surface.
NASA: Promises To Throw Light on Chandrayaan 2 Vikram Lander
NASA’s current spacecraft named Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter orbits the moon. On 17th September 2019, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter scheduled to fly over Chandrayaan 2’s Vikram Lander landing site.
If possible, this spacecraft would take images of the area where Chandrayaan 2’s Vikram Lander had crashed. One of NASA’s spokesmen has announced and confirmed that NASA would share the latest images. Thus, the before and after images of Vikram’s landing lunar site can be analyzed.
Report from Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman of ISRO
The images from onboard cameras on Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter showed the location of the Lander. The Chairman of ISRO, Dr. K. Sivan commented that Chandrayaan 2 Vikram Lander had a hard landing. He added that the damaged conditions of the Vikram Lander are unknown for the present moment. Some like to think Vikram is in one piece. But it is tilted to the lunar surface near its original landing site.
Current Studies on Reestablishing Communications
The ISRO’s Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) team is trying to re-establish communications with Lander. Members are diligently working to find the status and position of Chandrayaan 2’s Vikram Lander. The team has requested people to await further updates. The entire nation is waiting early to hear the good news from the ISRO scientists.