The Indian Space Research Organisation stated that it has found the location of the Vikram Lander on the Moon's surface a day after losing contact with the module, ISRO chief K. Sivan announced on Sunday.
We found Vikram on surface of moon and I am sure we connect soon with Vikram lander and successfully complete our chandrayaan2 mission.😊👍@isro@narendramodi #ISROweareproudofyou#VikramLanderFound pic.twitter.com/Gr6Gb5bXG9
— Kailasavadivo Sivan (@kailasavadivos) September 8, 2019
According to K. Sivan, the orbiter has clicked a thermal image of the Vikram Lander.
"It must have been a hard-landing. We do not know if the Vikram module was damaged during the landing on the lunar surface," the ISRO chairman stressed, as quoted by Livemint.
The Vikram landing module, which was part of the Chandrayaan-2 automatic station, was supposed to deliver the 12 kg (27 pound) Pragyan lunar rover to the Moon's surface. The device was supposed to explore the area around the Moon's south pole.
Meanwhile, the main spaceship, the Orbiter, will remain in lunar orbit for at least a year.
The mission was particularly important for the country, because, if successful, it would be the first Indian object to make a soft landing on the moon, as well as the first device in the world to land on the South Pole of the Moon.
