A Chennai-based Mechanical Engineer has claimed that the rover launched by Indian Space Research Organisation’s Chandrayan 2 mission to the moon is ‘intact’ and has moved a few metres from debris of Vikram, the lander, which had disintegrated due to a rough landing on the lunar surface.
The claim by Shanmuga Subramanian, accompanied by pictures, comes nearly ten months after ISRO failed to soft-launch Vikram, the lander, and Paagyan, the rover, as part of its ambitious mission.
How did the rover move?
Shedding light on his claim, Subramanian, who found the debris of India's moonlander Vikram, said that since commands were sent to Vikram, the lander, for days, there is a “distinct possibility that lander could have received commands and relayed it to the rover.. but lander was not able to communicate it back to the earth.”
Seeking to explain why the possible discovery was not made earlier, Subramanian said that since the lunar south pole is not always well-lit and since the “the lander was in a shallow depth of 2 m from the surface,” it may have not been visible during a NASA flyby on 11 November 2019.
“Due to different angle of incidence, it would be difficult for anyone to find it unless the sun is directly above the surface,” he added.
What is ISRO saying?
"We have received communication from him (Subramanian). Our experts are analysing the same," K Sivan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told IANS.
Why did the lander disintegrate?
Vikram lost contact with ISRO following its launch from Chandrayaan-2 moon orbiter on 6 September last year when it tried to make soft landing near the moon's south pole.
21 July 2020 marked a year of the launch of India's second moon mission by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-MkIII-M1.
It was on 22 Jul, 2019, when the GSLV rocket, nicknamed 'Bahubali', blasted off from the second launch pad at India's rocket port in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh carrying Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Vikram (lander) and Pragyan (rover).
(With inputs from IANS)
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