Cheer up! Chandrayaan-2 is already a BIG success
Vikram lander's fate might be hanging in balance but there is no denying that what ISRO has achieved with Chandrayaan-2 is nothing short of brilliance.
Gloom quickly rippled through the nation as soon as ISRO lost contact with the Vikram lander. But, this is not a time to feel sad about Vikram lander. It is a time to rejoice the extraordinary feat achieved by ISRO.
Vikram lander is a part of a much larger mission. The lander will land on the moon and perform experiments for the next 7 days. However, the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter will be orbiting the moon for the next year. The amount of data it will send back will be priceless. A countless number of experiments it will conduct will be very very crucial for the future ISRO missions.
Emily Lakdawalla, a senior editor at planetary.org in a tweet said: Just a reminder to folks that on its way to putting this lander down, India did successfully put its second spacecraft in orbit at the Moon. Chandrayaan-2 orbiter will be up there doing science for a year. Lander would only have lasted 2 weeks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also echoed these sentiments after the contact was lost with the lander. The PM asked the entire ISRO team to be courageous and that the entire nation stood with them.
This is not a failure, but a means to greater success. ISRO has taken another step forward into space. There will be many more missions to come in the future.
The official word from ISRO is that the data is being analysed and there is no final word on the fate of Vikram lander. The entire nation is holding its breath and praying for some good news to come from ISRO.
