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The Indian lander Chandrayaan-2, Vikram, has made a "hard landing" on the moon, but the exact location of the probe is still unknown, NASA said.
Vikram was scheduled to land on September 7 at the South Lunar Pole more than a month after taking off. The descent of the LG was normal until it was 2.1 km from the lunar surface when it departed the intended course and that the communications with the LG have been lost.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) – the equivalent of NASA in India – is still trying to understand why lost contact with the undercarriage.
On September 17, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LAR) of NASA flew over the landing site and took pictures of the area, but the team has not yet been able to locate or locate to get an image of the LG, NASA announced in a statement released Thursday.
"It was at dusk when the landing zone was imaged and so large shadows covered much of the terrain, it's possible that the undercarriage was hiding in a shadow," says the communicated.
Other pictures should be taken in October.
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
After Vikram's loss of contact, the scientists had only until 21 September to establish a communication with the LG before the zone entered a lunar night, according to information provided by locals.
ISRO said the duration of Vikram 's mission was a lunar day, which equates to 14 days on land.
Despite this brutal landing, ISRO President, K Sivan, said that a plan was being developed for a lunar mission in the future.
"We are working on a detailed future plan," he said on Thursday.
"A national committee was formed to find out what was wrong with the lander, and once the committee has submitted its report, we will work on what needs to be done at the airport. future, "he added.
Vikram's objective was to "conduct detailed topographical studies, [and] complete mineralogical analyzes … such as the presence of water molecules on the moon ".
It was the third time this year that we were trying to land on the moon.
In January, China made a history soft landing on the "dark side" of the moon in the South Pole-Aitken area. This was the first spaceship in history to reach this region. Since then, his rover and lander operate in this area.
Israel also sent a spacecraft in April, but the landing was problematic and communications were lost while it was about 149 meters above the surface of the moon. The attempt ended with a hard landing.
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