City
Epaper

Vikram lander not found in NASA's latest images

By IANS | Updated: October 23, 2019 19:45 IST

US Space agency NASA has once again failed to trace Chandrayaan 2's Vikram lander on the lunar surface.

Open in App

A NASA spacecraft clicked photos of the landing site of Vikram earlier this month, but couldn't capture the lander.

A NASA scientist said the spacecraft failed to trace Vikram because of two reasons one, Vikram is located outside the area the US agency photographed, second, because it's lying in a shadowed part of the moon.

On July 22, the Rs 978-crore Chandrayaan-2 was launched into space by India's heavy lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) in a text book style.

The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft comprised three segments the Orbiter (weighing 2,379 kg, eight payloads), Vikram (1,471 kg, four payloads) and Pragyan (27 kg, two payloads).

After five earth-bound orbit raising activities, Chandrayaan-2 was inserted into the lunar orbit. On September 2, Vikram separated from the orbiter. It made a historic landing attempt on September 7.

According to NASA, Vikram attempted a landing on a small patch of lunar highland smooth plains between Simpelius N and Manzinus C craters.

This event was India's first attempt at a soft landing on the moon.

The US agency said Vikram's targeted landing site was located about 600 kilometres (370 miles) from the south pole in a relatively ancient terrain (70.8AoS latitude, 23.5AoE longitude).

According to NASA, Vikram had a hard landing and the precise location of the spacecraft in the lunar highlands has yet to be determined.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: VikramNasausindiaPragyan
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalIdaho Shooting: 2 Shot at Shoshone County Sheriff's Office in Wallace; Suspect Killed

Social ViralSanta Spotted in US Skies? Netizens Report Red Sleigh Seen Over Multiple Cities (Watch Videos)

InternationalNorth Carolina Plane Crash: Retired NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle and Family Among Seven Killed in Statesville Jet Crash

International'Warrior Dividend': Donald Trump Announces $1,776 Christmas Bonus to Active US Soldiers

BusinessUS Stock Exchange Nasdaq Moves Toward 24-Hour Trading, How Will Impact on Indian Share Market

टेकमेनिया Realted Stories

TechnologyAuto PLI scheme sees Rs 35,657 crore investment, incentives worth Rs 2,322 crore disbursed

TechnologyIndia’s broadband subscriber base surpasses 1 billion mark in Nov: Govt

TechnologyVande Bharat sleeper train clears 180 kmph high-speed trial

TechnologyAIIMS Bhubaneswar performs first liver transplant successfully; patient recovering well

TechnologyIndia conducts successful test of Pralay, quasi-ballistic missile off Odisha coast