India’s 978 Crore unmanned moon mission
Chandrayaan 2 Vikram lander lost its communication with the Indian Space Research Organization during its powered descent to the south pole of the moon. India’s 978 crores unmanned moon mission is far from over. Chandrayaan, a planned life of one year that can be further extended up to seven years. The orbiter will continue to circle the moon and send data on the unexplored South Pole, which is believed to hold significant amounts of water hidden in ice craters. Chandrayaan 1 had confirmed the presence of water ice on the moon in 2008.
Change in mission
The Chandrayaan 2 mission was planned to study the moon’s surface over a lunar day of two weeks. But due to lost in the communication, the mission will now lay emphasis on information gathered by the orbiter which on 8 September 2019 transmitted thermal images of the lander on the moon.
Only 37% soft landings so far have been successful
K Sivan ISRO Chairman had earlier described soft landings as “15 minutes of terror.’ As the moon has no atmosphere, the precise firing of the rocket engine needed to lower the lander carrying the rover down on the moon. Summed up by NASA, only 37% soft landings so far have been successful, many countries, conglomerate and private companies are spending millions to land on the lunar surface.
United States’s Apollo missions spent at least $100 billion to compare with Chandrayaan-2 cost about $140 million. India’s next soft landing attempt is likely to happen soon, for now, orbiter streaming data will help to identify the precise cause for the communication loss.
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