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The last hope that Vikram Lander of Chandrayaan-2 is revived is extinguished with the sunset on the southern polar region of the lunar surface. Vikram's solar panels will no longer work, and it is now out of the question to reactivate them after the lunar night.
After unsuccessfully trying to reestablish the lost communication link between the Orbiter and the Lander, India's space research organization (Isro) turned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of Vikram's landing site. However, comparing the before and after images of the site did not help bring a new perspective on the destiny of the Lander.
Just 350 meters before a soft landing on the lunar surface, Isro had lost touch with Vikram. A few days later, the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter spotted Vikram, but with a slant. The Isro scientists had said that he had landed, probably damaging his onboard computers.
Although Isro claimed that the entire lunar mission had managed 95%, his inability to reconnect with Vikram meant that the landing party had failed. After a soft landing, the Rover, Pragyan had to leave the Lander and probe the lunar surface for a full lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days.
Failure due to 5 engines?
In the meantime, Isro initiates would have analyzed the fact that Vikram would have a better chance of landing softly with a powerful single-engine instead of the five who ended up increasing the weight. In addition, a single engine would have avoided the complexities of managing multiple engines, they said.
The United States, China and the former USSR had all landed their craft on the lunar surface with powerful single-engine aircraft. Their technique was to cut the single engine before touchdown so that the landing gear could make a soft landing.
Once the communication link with Vikram was lost, its orbital speed could no longer be lowered as expected. Inevitably, the Lander landed at great speed. Isro had originally planned to turn off his four angle boosters and leave only the single engine in the center. The intention was to minimize the challenge of the moon dust.
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