ISRO issued a statement Saturday to emphasise that the Chandrayaan-2 mission was still on. It had a lot of science left in it, despite the setback.
NASA’s Statement
After India’s unsuccessful attempt to soft-land the ‘Vikram’ lander on the surface of the moon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) commended the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its efforts.
Stating that “space is hard”, NASA said that it looks forward to future opportunities to explore the solar system with ISRO. “We commend ISRO’s attempt to land their Chandrayaan-2 mission on the Moon’s South Pole. You have inspired us with your journey and look forward to future opportunities to explore our solar system together.”
However, the praise comes a day after former NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger said the lessons learnt from India’s “bold attempt” to soft-land the ‘Vikram’ module will help the country in its future missions.
ISRO issued a statement Saturday to emphasise that the Chandrayaan-2 mission was still on and had a lot of science left in it despite the setback. Besides, Doordarshan took an interview of ISRO chairman K Sivan. He said attempts to re-establish contact with the lost lander would continue for the next two weeks.
Overall, Chandrayaan-2, a follow-on mission, involved meticulous planning with hundreds of top scientists working on it. Approved in 2008, it is a Rs 978-crore initiative. Satellite cost Rs 603 crore and GSLV MK III cost Rs 375 crore). It is a successor to Chandrayaan-1 mission, it comprised an orbiter, lander and rover. The orbiter carries eight scientific payloads for mapping the lunar surface and study the exosphere (outer atmosphere) of the moon.
Consequently, ISRO Director K Sivan said that the space agency “will try to establish a link for the next 14 days” with Chandrayaan-2. The director said that they didn’t completed the last phase of mission properly. Hence, they lost the kink with lander.
Prime Minister’s words on Chandrayaan-2
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told ISRO Scientists not to get disheartened due to the failure. Modi reassured the scientists and said India’s determination to touch the moon has become even stronger. “You are among those who live and work hard to take India to new heights,” he said at the space agency’s headquarters in Bengaluru. “You are the ones who sacrifice your own dreams and spend sleepless nights to keep India’s head high.”
