By: Talat Mohsin
India had ventured to do something no country had done before- land on the moon’s south pole. But it’s attempt turned into failure when the robotic spacecraft diverged from its path and all communications with the lander was lost. The incident happened 13 minutes after the lander of the Chandrayaan 2 began it’s descent on the surface. The lander had reduced its velocity of 1.6 km/sec to half within the first 7 minutes and had come down to an altitude of 7 km.
ISRO chief Kailasavavadivoo Sivan confirmed the news and also added that the data from the lander has been analyzed and that the bump will not end in the failure of the Chandrayaan 2 mission. Prime minister Modi interacted with chief Sivan on Saturday and also addressed the ISRO team, saying- “When ISRO has it’s an encyclopaedia of success, some hurdles cannot put its a flight out of trajectory. Learnings from today will make us stronger and better; there will be new dawn”.
The mission has been reported to be a 95% success, with the orbiter estimated to go around the moon for over a year. “ the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is healthy and safe in the lunar orbit”, an ISRO official said.
President Kovind lauded the team for their efforts by saying that the entire team of ISRO has shown exemplary commitment and courage. The whole country has reached out to ISRO and has commended them for their work. Some of the reactions are as follows:
India is proud of our scientists! They’ve given their best and have always made India proud. These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 6, 2019
Chairman @isro gave updates on Chandrayaan-2. We remain hopeful and will continue working hard on our space programme.
With #Chandrayaan2 Mission, the entire team of ISRO has shown exemplary commitment and courage. The country is proud of @ISRO. We all hope for the best #PresidentKovind
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 6, 2019
There is nothing to despair. ISRO only lost communication with the Lander & not the hopes of 1.3 billion Indians. The Orbiter with its payloads is performing its mission. @isro #Chandrayaan2
— VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) September 7, 2019
कोशिश करने वालों की हार नहीं होती..
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 7, 2019
India is proud of @isro and its team of scientists. The ISRO’s mission to reach the Moon is bound to succeed.
Their courage and commitment will ultimately make it successful. I wish team ISRO a great success in their future endeavours.
Congratulations to the team at #ISRO for their incredible work on the Chandrayaan 2 Moon Mission. Your passion & dedication is an inspiration to every Indian. Your work is not in vain. It has laid the foundation for many more path breaking & ambitious Indian space missions. 🇮🇳
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 6, 2019
