The Indian Space Research Organisation on Tuesday confirmed that Chandrayaan-2's orbiter located Vikram, the lander of the moon mission, which went out of contact during its final descent on the lunar surface on September 7. However, the orbiter could not establish communication with it so far, the space agency said.
"All possible efforts are being made to establish communication with the lander," read a tweet from ISRO.
Vikram, which encases rover 'Pragyan', went incommunicado when it was just 2.1km away from the lunar surface.
Earlier, an ISRO official claimed that 'Vikram' was lying on the lunar surface as a single piece, unbroken and it was in a tilted position following a hard landing.
India's space mission, Chandrayaan-2, comprises an orbiter, lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan). The mission life of the lander and rover is one lunar day, which is equal to 14 earth days.
ISRO Chairman K Sivan said on Saturday that the space agency would try to restore the link with the lander for 14 days.
Though the moon mission failed in its last stretch, scientists are finding solace in the fact that the Orbiter will perform its duties for seven years (2026) with enough fuel on board to perform various tasks.
The space agency says that the Orbiter will enrich the understanding of the Moon’s evolution and mapping of the minerals and water molecules in the polar regions, using its eight state-of-the-art scientific instruments.
