SCIENCE

ISRO thanks all Indians for support after it lost contact with
Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander

PTI
BENGALURU, SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 17:07 IST
UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 17:07 IST

ISRO got support from the entire nation, despite it losing communication with the
lander ‘Vikram’ ahead of the touchdown on September 7

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has expressed gratitude to Indians in the country
and abroad for the support it received after the space agency lost contact with the lander of
Chandrayaan-2, minutes before touchdown on the Moon recently.
The space agency had got support from the entire nation, despite it losing communication
with the lander ‘Vikram’ ahead of the touchdown on September 7, with people from all walks
of life praising ISRO and its scientists for the achievement.
“Thank you for standing by us. We will continue to keep going forward propelled by the hopes
and dreams of Indians across the world!” ISRO tweeted on September 17.

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“Thank you for inspiring us to always aim for the sky,” ISRO said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had flown down to Bengaluru to watch the planned
touchdown of Vikram, had told ISRO scientists not to get dejected and disheartened and said
the country was proud of them.

“I see disappointment on your faces. No need to get dejected. We have learnt a lot,” Mr. Modi
had said.

“These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be! We remain hopeful and will
continue working hard on our space programme,” he had said.

Lander Vikram, with rover Pragyan housed inside it, lost communication with ground-
stations during its final descent, just 2.1 km above the lunar surface, minutes before the
planned touchdown on the Moon.
Efforts to re-establish the link have been going on since then.

On September 8, ISRO had said the lander was spotted on the lunar surface by camera onboard
of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. Vikram had a hard-landing.

The lander, designed to execute a soft-landing on the lunar surface, and rover have a mission
life of one Lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 earth days.

The space agency after losing contact with the lander had said that till date, 90 to 95% of the
Chandrayaan-2 mission objectives have been accomplished and it would continue contribute
to Lunar science, notwithstanding the loss of communication with the Lander.
It had also noted that the precise launch and mission management has ensured a long life of
almost 7 years instead of the planned one year for the orbiter.

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tech/science/isro-thanks-all-indians-for-support-after-it-lost-contact-with-chandrayaan-
2s-vikram-lander/article29449365.ece
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