In a massive development, ISRO chief K Sivan confirmed on Sunday that the space organization had spotted Vikram lander on the moon’s surface and the orbiter even clicked its thermal image. Sivan, who is the head honcho of Chandrayaan 2, said Vikram was supposed to land smoothly on the surface of the moon but ISRO lost contact with it.
Speaking to ANI, Indian Space Research Organization chief K Sivan said, they have found the location of Vikram lander on the lunar surface and its orbiter has taken a thermal image of the same. However, he confirmed there is no communication as yet and they are still to make contact – a development that is expected to take place soon.
After taking off in July, Vikram floated for weeks and was ready to set for landing on the moon’s southern pole. On Saturday, its descent started at roughly 1:37 am and the initial bit was flawless. However, at an altitude of 2.1 km, Vikram lost contact with ISRO, handing over a major setback to scientists who had been working for years on this historic mission.
Though the lander went incommunicado, we now know that the orbiter is safe and healthy. The debacle broke hearts of billions of Indians but all was not lost. In what served as the light at the end of a dark tunnel, it was reported that the orbiter, which was ferrying Vikram lander and rover Pragyan both were active and functioning.
The orbiter weighing 2,379 kg has a lifespan of seven and a half years and it will conduct remote sensing observations. Many in the scientific community kept faith that the orbiter would successfully find Vikram. A senior scientist explained to the press that there was a possibility of finding Vikram lander within three days as is takes an orbiter that much time to reach the same point. He had also said that if Vikram had crash landed, it would be difficult for the orbiter to find.
