Technology
Vikram lander not found in NASA's latest images
New Delhi, Oct 23
US Space agency NASA has once again failed to trace Chandrayaan 2's Vikram lander on the lunar surface.
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.
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.
18 seconds ago
Legendary umpires Bowden, Martinesz, Llong and Matbiri to officiate LLC season 3
56 seconds ago
How they removed an anomaly in Indian motorsports to make it more accessible to kids
1 minute ago
PKL 11: Banking on seasoned raiders, Bengaluru Bulls seek a return to the playoffs
3 minutes ago
Champions League: Griezmann stars in Atletico fight back, Barca crash in Monaco
5 minutes ago
Akshara Singh channels her inner ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’
6 minutes ago
Have Chunky Panday and Aditya Pancholi converted to Christianity?
7 minutes ago
Manushi Chillar reveals her double dating adventure: Momos and workload
8 minutes ago
Rashmika Mandanna takes Malaysian beauty Christinna Kuan under her wing for Telugu lessons
11 minutes ago
When Akshay Kumar invited Vivek, Riteish for dinner but left them unaccompanied
13 minutes ago
Several reforms to transform food processing sector launched in last 10 years: PM Modi
14 minutes ago
Committed to boost container availability, reduce congestion at ports: Piyush Goyal
15 minutes ago
Indian EV Industry to become major power consumer amid robust growth: Report
17 minutes ago
Netizens slam Ola’s Bhavish over poor e-scooter quality as he shows battery cell to Union Minister Vaishnaw