With the landing on the south pole of the moon, India wants to position itself as a player in space travel. But there was a problem with the landing of the lunar probe late last night. After an initially scheduled landing, contact with the lunar probe suddenly broke off. Their fate is currently unknown.
Data must be evaluated
The maneuver had initially gone according to plan, but then the contact between the probe and the control center was demolished on the ground, reported the Indian Space Agency ISRO. The data transmitted so far will now be evaluated. „Vikram“ should land on the moon near the South Pole. Nobody has landed there yet.
The unmanned probe had entered lunar orbit on Aug. 20 after a four-week voyage through space. India developed almost all components of the „Chandrayaan-2“ mission itself. The cost was equivalent to around 126 million euros compared to other lunar programs low. At India’s first lunar mission in 2008, the probe „Chandrayaan-1“ had only orbited the earth satellite, but had not landed.
India wants to become the fourth country after the USA, Russia and China, which manages to land on the moon.
„Whole country proud of you“
„We will continue our journey,“ announced Modi, who pursued the mission in the Bangalore Space Center, after the loss of contact. „Our whole country is proud of you,“ he said to the scientists involved. He hopes that the contact with „Vikram“ will be restored.
