In a bid to find the evidences of water on the lunar surface, India launched Chandrayaan 2 via GSLV MK III rocket on 22 July 2019. On 2nd September, the lander Vikram got separated from Orbiter which was revolving around the moon. The Vikram lander started to move towards the lunar surface and was expected to make a soft landing at a distance of almost 500+ kilometers from Moon’s south pole on Saturday morning.
Vikram lander started its descent to lunar surface at 1:38 AM(Indian standard time) which was termed as 15 minutes of terror by ISRO chairman K. Sivan. Things were going swiftly until ISRO lost contact with the Chandrayaan-2 lander Vikram, only 2.1 km away from the lunar surface, after which despair swept across the country including ISRO’s mission control room.
Everything went well for 13 minutes and 48 seconds. Applause also echoed in ISRO’s mission control room, but one and a half minutes before the lunar touchdown, ISRO lost contact with Vikram at around 1:55 AM. Despite the rare failure from ISRO, every citizen of the country is appreciating the work of ISRO and its scientists. Its worth mentioning that no other country has dared to step foot at the South pole of the moon which is completely dark and is untouched by sun light.
Chandrayaan 1 mission discovered the evidences of water on the lunar surface and Chandryaan 2 was a follow up to get the conclusive evidence of the same. Not to forget, lunar south pole region features craters that are unique in that the near-constant sunlight does not reach their interior. Such craters are cold traps that contain a fossil record of hydrogen, water ice, and other volatiles dating from the early Solar System.
ISRO and their great scientists were applauded by Indian cricketing fraternity for their great prowess. Here’s a look at some of the tweets-
Very proud of our @isro. You were almost there. I join the world in applauding you.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 7, 2019
It’s only a failure if we don’t learn from our setbacks. We will come back stronger! I salute the great spirit of team @isro for making a billion Indians dream together, as one. The best is definitely yet to come ? #Chandrayaan2
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) September 7, 2019
#India is proud of its #ISRO scientists who have made us a world leader in Space Science. #Chandrayaan2 will inspire millions of Indian kids. Jai Hind ?? https://t.co/IyOotFgR2t
— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) September 7, 2019
Khwaab Adhoora raha par Hauslein Zinda hain ,
Isro woh hai, jahaan mushkilein Sharminda hain .
Hum Honge Kaaamyab #Chandrayan2— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) September 7, 2019
Nothing can stop us from achieving our goals, if we pursue them with focus, persistence nd determination. I am certain our Scientists at ISRO have these qualities inbuilt into their psyche. I wish them success & God Speed in all their future missions. #Chandrayaan2 #ISROMissions
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) September 7, 2019
Commendable feat by our scientists @isro . Getting #VikramLander almost there on the moon is a no mean feat. I am sure that success will follow very soon.
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) September 7, 2019
There’s nothing like failure in science, we experiment & we gain. Massive respect for the scientists at #ISRO who worked relentlessly over days & nights. The nation is proud of you, Jai Hind! ?? #Chandrayan2
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 7, 2019
We as a nation are extremely proud of the entire team at @ISRO for the incredible work put together for the mission of #Chandrayaan2. With hope and passion in our hearts let’s get up and do it again and never give up !
— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) September 7, 2019
Failure is the first step to success.
Our moon mission didn’t pan out and that’s alright. We tried our best. What a commendable effort by everyone at #ISRO you make us so, so proud. ??#Chandrayaan2— Suresh Raina?? (@ImRaina) September 7, 2019
