New Delhi: Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is expecting more information from Vikram Lander after a lunar probe of the United State’s space agency NASA is scheduled to fly over the site tomorrow.
Reports say that the NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will try and locate Vikram on the lunar surface and will take pictures of the lander and share it with ISRO to carry out efforts to communicate with it.
LRO project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Noah Petro, said, “NASA will share any before and after flyover imagery of the area around the targeted Chandrayaan-2 Vikram lander landing site to support analysis by the Indian Space Research Organisation.”
ISRO is continuing its efforts to re-establish contact with Vikram Lander after it lost contact with Indian space agency just 2 kms above lunar surface. Earlier, ISRO Chairman, K. Sivan said that the Orbiter had taken thermal images of Vikram on the lunar surface.
The ISRO has 7 more days to make contact with Vikram as its battery will run out by that time. Vikram, with Pragyan Rover house inside it, was designed for a 14-day life.
Chandrayaan-2 is India’s ambitious project to soft land on the South pole of the Moon. This has never been attempted before and the world looked towards India’s grand project. Chandrayaan 2 was launched on 22nd July and the Vikram Lander tried to soft land on lunar surface on 8 September.
Vikram followed the path exactly as the scientists had planned but just before touch down the communications were lost.
However, Chandrayaan-2 is not considered a failure because the Orbiter is still working. The Orbiter is expected to be working for seven more years and will provide valuable information to scientists.
The US space agency had congratulated India for sending Chandrayaan-2 and had promised every help to our scientists. They also appreciated our efforts to soft land on the Southern part of the moon, which was considered dangerous and highly risky.
