Chandrayaan 2: Lander Vikram Located On Moon's Surface
After scientists at ISRO lost contact with lander Vikram just 2.1 km before its soft landing on the moon’s surface, ISRO chief K Sivan has updated on the matter saying that Chandrayaan 2 lander Vikram has been located on the moon’s surface and the ground station is working to establish contact
India had expected to make history with Chandrayaan 2’s moon lander Vikram reaching the lunar surface. However, just 2.1 km before its soft landing on the lunar surface, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) lost contact with the lander and brought in a wave of sadness among all Indians, especially ISRO chief K Sivan, who was seen breaking down into tears. Bollywood celebrities Anushka Sharma, Akshay Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Amitabh Bachchan and many others took to social media to laud their efforts.
Now, there is an update on the same and news agency PTI quoted ISRO chief K Sivan saying that Chandrayaan 2 lander Vikram has been located on the moon’s surface and the ground station is working to establish contact. It is still unclear whether the lander had been damaged and Mr Sivan said, “Yes, we have located the lander on the lunar surface. It must have been a hard-landing.” According to the news agency ANI, Mr Sivan said that the lunar orbiter had taken a thermal image of the lander. "... orbiter has clicked a thermal image of Lander. But there is no communication yet. We are trying to have contact. It will be communicated soon," Mr Sivan was quoted as saying.
A successful soft landing would have made India the first country to complete a soft landing near the South Pole on its first attempt. It would have also made India only the fourth country to have achieved a soft landing on the moon’s surface after the United States, Russia and China.
Image Source: Tech Explorist, Instagram/isro.in
