New Delhi, September 10: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday informed that though the location of Lander Vikram has been traced, there is no communication with the vehicle so far. The space agency said that all possible efforts are being made to establish communication with the Vikram lander. The development comes two days after ISRO spotted it on the Moon's surface. "Vikram Lander has been located by the orbiter of Chandrayaan 2, but no communication with it yet. All possible efforts are being made to establish communication with lander", ISRO had tweeted. Chandrayaan 2: Possibility of Re-Establishing Communication With Vikram Lander Low, Says ISRO.
On Monday, the Indian space agency informed that Chandrayaan-2’s ‘Vikram’ lander is not broken and lies on the lunar surface in one piece. However, it added saying that the lander is lying in a titled position. Several space experts are of the opinion that with time, the possibility of re-establishing communication with the Vikram lander seems very low. Chandrayaan 2: Exact Location of Vikram Lander on Moon's Surface Traced.
Here's the tweet by ISRO:
#VikramLander has been located by the orbiter of #Chandrayaan2, but no communication with it yet.
All possible efforts are being made to establish communication with lander.#ISRO
— ISRO (@isro) September 10, 2019
On Sunday, ISRO informed that the orbiter has clicked a thermal image of the Lander. ”We have found the location of Lander Vikram on lunar surface and orbiter has clicked a thermal image of Lander,” K Sivan told ANI. He added that that no communication has been established with the Lander yet.
Chandrayaan-1 Director Mylswamy Annadurai on Sunday said that the obstacles on the lunar surface may have been stopping the lander from receiving the signals, "As we have located the lander on the lunar surface, we now have to establish contact with it. The place, where the lander alighted is expected to be not conducive enough for the lander to soft-land. There may be some obstacles, which could have been stopping us from establishing the connection," Annadurai told ANI.
ISRO had lost communication moments before it was scheduled to make a soft-landing on the South Pole region of the moon on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was at the ISRO headquarters to witness the historic moment, cheered hundreds of Indian space scientists and engineers for their hard work after India lost contact with its moon lander Vikram while descending. He told them not to lose heart over the setback in the ambitious Chandrayaan-2 mission.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 10, 2019 10:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).