ISRO may have lost lander, rover: Official
Data being analysed: ISRO
Bengaluru, Sep 7: ISRO may have lost Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander and rover Pragyan housed inside it, a senior official of the space agency associated with the unmanned moon mission said here Saturday.
Earlier in the day, contact from the lander to the ground stations was lost during its powered descent to the Lunar surface minutes before the planned touch-down.
"Vikram lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km.
Subsequently, the communications from the lander to ground stations was lost," ISRO chief K Sivan said.
"The data is being analysed," he added.
Speaking to PTI, a senior official closely associated with the mission, said later: "There is no communication with the lander.
It's as good as lost. There is no hope. Very, very difficult to re-establish contact".
The 1,471-kg lander of Chandrayaan-2 first Indian mission to explore the lunar terrain with home-grown technology -- is named Vikram after Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space programme.
The lander was designed to execute a soft landing on the lunar surface, and to function for one lunar day, which is equivalent to about 14 earth days.
Chandrayaan-2's 27-kg rover is a six-wheeled robotic vehicle named Pragyan, which translates to 'wisdom' in Sanskrit.
It's designed to travel up to 500 metres from the landing spot on the Moon and leverage solar energy for its functioning.
The lander carried three scientific payloads to conduct surface and subsurface science experiments, while the rover carried two payloads to enhance our understanding of the lunar surface, according to ISRO.
The mission life of the orbiter will be one year while that of the rover was to be one lunar day which is equal to 14 earth days.
India is proud of our scientists! They’ve given their best and have always made India proud. These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 6, 2019
Chairman @isro gave updates on Chandrayaan-2. We remain hopeful and will continue working hard on our space programme.
This is Mission Control Centre. #VikramLander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, communication from Lander to the ground stations was lost. Data is being analyzed.#ISRO
— ISRO (@isro) September 6, 2019
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2 held for strangling to death 3-year-old girl in Jharkhand’s Godda
Godda (PTI): Two persons were arrested for allegedly strangling to death a three-year-old girl and dumping her body into a well in Jharkhand’s Godda district, police said on Friday.
The incident took place at Makudi village within Muffasil police station limits on Thursday night, they said.
Villagers said they spotted a man identified as Prem Murmu (50) near the well at night and, suspecting foul play, informed the police.
"The kid's body was recovered from the well soon after, and Murmu was detained for questioning," said Anand Shah, the officer-in-charge of Muffasil police station.
During interrogation, Murmu told police that he and his friend Jarmen Soren (30) had killed the kid. Both were later arrested, Saha said.
"The accused were in an inebriated state at the time of the incident. They have not yet revealed the motive behind the killing. This has led to suspicion that the girl might have been raped," the OC said.
The duo have been sent to judicial custody after registering an FIR at the police station, police said.
