Chandrayaan 2 Orbiter Locates Vikram Lander On The Lunar Surface, No Communication Yet, Says ISRO Chief

The Vikram Lander, which went incommunicado while attempting to land on the Moon's surface has been located, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has said.

ISRO Chief K Sivan told ANI that the Chandrayaan-II orbiter has clicked an image of Vikram on the lunar surface.

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¡°The orbiter has clicked a thermal image of the lander. But there is no communication yet. We are trying to establish contact,¡± Sivan told ANI.

The identification of the location of Vikram lander is significant for the ISRO which is still keeping its hopes of establishing communication with the probe open.

It will also help the scientists to identify what went wrong during the landing in the wee hours of Saturday.

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The Vikram Lander, named after legendary Indian space scientist Vikram Sarabhai had lost communication at 1.53am on Saturday, less than two minutes before it was supposed to make a soft landing on the lunar surface.

Vikram Lander and Pragyan rover were aimed to explore the unexplored south pole of the lunar surface.

The lander and rover were expected to last at least one lunar day, or 14 Earth days, on the moon¡¯s surface.

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Chandrayaan 2 began its journey on July 22 from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The mission was expected to help India make space history by making the country only the fourth - after the United States, Russia and China - to achieve the feat.