India’s second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 has faced a technical snag as ISRO lost contact to Vikram lander just moments before the touchdown on the moon’s surface. India would have registered its name as the fourth country to make a soft landing on the moon.
According to the ISRO officials, the mission was projecting normally until an error occurred about 2.1 kilometers from the surface. The contact to Vikram Lander was lost just seconds before it was about to land. Scientists are analyzing the data before the snag happened.
The news of contact being lost filled the control room of the project with gloom. Scientists at ISRO were keeping a close watch on Chandrayaan-2 since it started its controlled descent. India’s Prime Minister Mr. Modi was also present in the control room to witness the soft landing.
Later, he tweeted saying that there will be more opportunities in the future.
India is proud of our scientists! They’ve given their best and have always made India proud. These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be!
Chairman @isro gave updates on Chandrayaan-2. We remain hopeful and will continue working hard on our space programme.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 6, 2019
Chandrayaan-2 was bound for the Moon’s south pole – an area which has not been explored yet.
What Next?
Now that scientists have lost contact with the lander, the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter will still continue analyzing the moon’s surface from distance. India has previously announced its third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 which will take off in 2024. A few months ago, Israel’s debut lunar mission Beresheet also suffered the same technical snag and lost contact with its lander.
Nonetheless, it was a brave attempt from India and despite its failure, it demonstrated the advancements the country has made in the field of space exploration.
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