Bangalore: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Saturday that till date 90 to 95 per cent of the Chandrayaan-2 mission objectives have been accomplished and it would continue contributing to lunar science despite the loss of communication with lander ‘Vikram’.
ISRO also said the precise launch and mission management had ensured a long life of almost seven years instead of the planned one year for the orbiter.
India’s bold mission to soft-land on moon suffered a setback during the wee hours Saturday, with Chandrayaan-2’s ‘Vikram’ module losing communication with ground stations, just 2.1 km from the lunar surface during its final descent.
“”The ‘Vikram’ Lander followed the planned descent trajectory from its orbit of 35 km to just below two kilometres km above the surface. All the systems and sensors of the lander functioned excellently until this point and proved many new technologies such as variable ‘thrust propulsion technology’ used in the lander is a success,” ISRO said in an Sunday.
“The success criteria was defined for each and every phase of the mission and till date 90 to 95 per cent of the mission’s objectives have been accomplished and it would continue contributing to lunar science, notwithstanding the loss of communication with the lander,” the statement said.
Pointing out that the orbiter has already been placed in its intended orbit around the Moon, ISRO said, “It shall enrich our understanding of the moons evolution and mapping of the minerals and water molecules in the Polar Regions, using its eight state-of-the-art scientific instruments. The orbiter camera is the highest resolution camera (0.3m) in any lunar mission so far and shall provide high resolution images which will be immensely useful to the global scientific community.”
Stating that Chandrayaan-2 mission was a highly complex mission, which represented a significant technological leap compared to the previous missions of ISRO, the space agency said it brought together an Orbiter, Lander and Rover to explore the unexplored south pole of the Moon.
Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the Chandrayaan-2 mission will overcome all obstacles in reaching its target very soon. He also said India’s focus on innovation and use of cutting edge technology in its space programme to further human progress will continue.
Narendra Modi was responding to tweets by world leaders on Chandrayaan-2 mission.
“Our focus on innovation and using cutting edge technology in our space programme, to further human progress will continue,” Modi told Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Twitter.
Modi, responding to a tweet by Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, said India has always been and will always be ready to share its experiences in the developmental journey with friends like Mauritius.
He told Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering that with the good wishes of friends like him, ‘the capabilities and ‘can-do’ spirit of Indian scientists; and the support of our people, Mission Chandrayaan will overcome all obstacles in reaching our target very soon’.
PTI