Bengaluru: Downplaying the setback to lander 'Vikram,' Indian space scientists said 90 to 95 per cent of the mission objectives of Chandrayaan-2 were accomplished till date.
In a statement released through ISRO's official website, they said Chandrayaan-2, a highly complex mission, represents significant technological leap when compared with previous missions of the space agency.
It involves a unique combination of an orbiter, lander and rover, to explore the uncharted south pole of the Moon. "Since the launch of Chandrayaan-2 on July 22, 2019, not only India but the whole world watched its progress from one phase to the next with great expectations and excitement," it added.
The statement pointed out that this unique mission aims at studying not just one area of the Moon but all areas including the exosphere, surface as well as the sub-surface of the Moon.
The Orbiter has been placed in its intended orbit around the Moon and will enrich an understanding of the Moon's evolution and mapping of the minerals and water molecules in the Polar Regions, using its eight state-of-the-art scientific instruments.
The Orbiter's camera is the highest resolution camera (0.3m) in any lunar mission so far and shall provide high resolution images which will be immensely useful to the global scientific community. The precise launch and mission management has ensured a long life of almost seven years instead of the planned one year.
It said the lander, 'Vikram', followed the planned descent trajectory from its orbit of 35 km to just below 2 km above the surface. All the systems and sensors of the lander functioned excellently until this point and proved many new technologies such as variable thrust propulsion technology used in the lander.
