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The Chandrayaan-2 lander had a "hard landing" earlier this month before losing contact with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced. space (Nasa).
The US Space Agency released high-resolution images captured by its Lunar Reconnaissance Camera (LROC) during its flight over the lunar region where Vikram Lander attempted a soft landing near the unmapped moon area on Sept. 7. .
The LG was 2.1 km from history, becoming the first space mission in the world to land near the lunar south pole.
"Vikram had a hard landing and the exact location of the probe in the lunar highlands remains to be determined," Nasa said on its website.
The US agency said the site was about 600 kilometers from the South Pole on relatively old land.
Our @LRO_NASA The mission photographed the targeted landing site of the Indian Chandrayaan – 2 lander, Vikram. The images were taken at dusk and the team was unable to locate the LG. Other pictures will be taken in October during a flyby under favorable lighting. More: https://t.co/1bMVGRKslp pic.twitter.com/kqTp3GkwuM
– NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2019
The LRO, Nasa said, flew over the landing site on Sept. 17 and indicated that "until now, the LROC team has not been able to locate or imagine the lenghter ".
"It was dusk when the landing zone was imaged and large shadows covered so much of the terrain; it is possible that the Vikram Lander hides in a shadow. The lighting will be favorable when LRO will go on the site in October and will once again try to locate and imagine the LG, he added.
Read also: At dusk, hope to contact the Vikram lander Chandrayaan-2 fades, say experts
The landing of the Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission was attempting a "soft" or controlled landing near the South Pole of the Moon, where scientists believe that there could be ice-water.
He had started his motorized descent at 1:38 and had reduced his speed from 1,640 meters per second to 140 meters per second in 10 minutes. In the last few minutes, as the landing gear lowered its altitude relative to the lunar surface, communications stopped.
The last 15 minutes of the mission, during which the LG tried to guide himself with the help of his own propulsion system, had been described by Isro's chief, K Sivan, like "15 minutes of terror".
Originally scheduled for July 15, the launch of Chandrayaan-2 was halted due to a technical problem that occurred at the eleventh hour before take-off.
The second Indian lunar mission was launched from Sriharikota aboard the GSLV Mk III on July 22, after scientists solved the problem in about a week.
Read also: The lander Vikram d'Isro, inclined to the moon, but in one piece
First publication:
27 Sep 2019 07:59 IST
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