Bengaluru: Chandrayaan-2's lander Vikram is unbroken but lying tilted on the surface of the Moon after a hard landing very close to the scheduled touchdown site, an ISRO official said on Monday.
Efforts are underway to see whether communication can be re-established with the lander but chances of that could be bleak with full system functionality a prerequisite to restoring contact, officials explained. Contact with Vikram, which encases the rover, Pragyan, was lost in the early hours of September 7, when it was just 2.1 km above the lunar surface and seconds before touchdown.
"The lander is there (on the Moon) as a single piece, not broken into pieces. It's in a tilted position," an Indian Space Research Organisation official associated with the mission said.
Images sent by the orbiter's on-board camera shows that though the lander hit the lunar surface hard while landing, it is still very close to the scheduled touchdown site.
"We are making all-out efforts to see whether communication can be re-established with the lander," the official said. "An ISRO team is on the job at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC)," he added.
