ISRO Loses Connection with Vikram Lander | 07 Sep 2019
India's attempt to create history by becoming the first nation to land close to the south pole of the Moon might have turned to despair after Chandrayaan 2's lander 'Vikram' lost communication
- The Chandrayaan-2 approached the Moon as normal until an error occurred about 2.1km (1.3 miles) from the surface, seconds before the ship was expected to land.
- The descent hoped to reduce its speed from 6048 km per hour to about 7 km per hour or lower to enable a soft landing.
- India would have been the fourth nation to make a soft landing on the Moon if Chandryaaan-2 mission had gone successfully.
- However, according to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), only 5% of the mission has been lost (Vikram the lander and Pragyan the rover ), as Chandrayaan 2 orbiter - is orbiting the moon successfully.
- The mission life of the Orbiter is one year.
- The Orbiter is meant to map the lunar terrain, examine the intensity of solar radiation and the presence of major elements such as Magnesium, Aluminium, Silicon, Calcium, Titanium, Iron, and Sodium etc.
- It will also conduct a quantitative estimation of water-ice in the polar regions of the Moon.
- Chandrayaan-2 is an integrated 3-in-1 spacecraft comprising of an Orbiter of the Moon, Vikram, the lander and Pragyan, the rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.