The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) deadline and chance to establish contact with the Chandrayaan 2 lander, Vikram, ended on the 21st of September,
Chandrayaan 2’s Vikram Lander lost contact with the ISRO on the 7th of September, while landing on the surface of the Moon.
K. Sivan, the Chief of ISRO, on the 21st of September, said after the lifespan of the Vikram Lander ended on the 21st of September, the next priority of the ISRO is the Gaganyaan mission.
Mr. Sivan addressed the media and said ISRO is unable to restore communication with the Vikram Lander, hence, they will focus on the next mission, which is Ganganyaan.
However, the orbiter of the Chandrayaan 2 is working exactly as it was expected and will send the images of the surface of the Moon to ISRO.
The 2,379 kg orbiter of Chandrayaan 2 has a lifespan of 1 year and can send images for a long time.
The ISRO team said, “Performance of all orbiter payloads is satisfactory and that the orbiter continues to perform scheduled science experiments to complete satisfaction.”
ISRO also issued a statement, according to which, a national level committee comprising academicians and ISRO experts is working on and analyzing the cause of communication loss with the Lander.
The Ganganyaan mission is scheduled to launch in December 2021, with a budget of Rs. 10,000 crores. It also plans to send 3 astronauts to space for a minimum of 7 days by 2022. If the Ganganyaan mission succeed, India will be the fourth Country to send a human in space. The other three countries are Russia, the United States of America (U.S.A.,) and China.
Stay tuned for further updates.
