ISRO has refused to confirm a report published by PTI that Vikram lander is lying ‘intact’ on the lunar surface. Officials reiterated that they will try to re-establish connection with the lander 14 days, as told by director K Sivan on Saturday.
However, the possibility of re-establising communication link with the lander is getting increasingly difficult as time passes, according to a senior ISRO official who preferred to remain annonymous.
The lander can generate power from the Sun and recharge its batteries with the “right orientation”, he said. “But it looks less and less probable, progressively,” he added.
Another top ISRO official told media that the “hard-landing” of the lander has made the task of linking more difficult as it may not have landed on its four legs. The shock might have damaged the lander as well, the official reportedly said.
The 1,471 kg lander was supposed to land softly on the moon’s surface and function for one lunar day or 14 days here.
The lander contains a 27-kg six-wheeled robotic rover named Pragyan.
The Orbiter, which spotted Vikram on the lunar surface on Sunday, is safe in its orbit and will conduct most of the important experiments. One of the experiments will be to estimate the quantity of frozen water present in the Moon’s south polar region. The orbiter’s life is one year.
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