Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is running out of time to establish contact with the lander Vikram lying motionless on the lunar surface. The agency that lost all communication with it last Saturday has 14 days, equivalent to one lunar day, to establish contact with Vikram lander. The countdown began on September 7.
Vikram lander was allotted 14 days to do its job. The lander houses rover Pragyan that was scheduled to conduct a series of experiments on the lunar surface. Vikram lander had the capability of communicating with the rover as well as the orbiter, transmitting important information from the Moon to Earth.
After the period of 14 days expires, the solar panels of the lander will not energise as it won't be exposed to the Sun's rays. It will be too cold for Vikram lander to operate after that period.
Lander Vikram's three payloads - RAMBHA, ChaSTE and ILSA - were scheduled to carry on a series of experiments including determining seismic activity, monitor temperature, measuring temporal evolution of lunar plasma density and more. However, it is unlikely that anything has taken place so far.
As per recent media reports, not only ISRO, NASA too has sent messages to Vikram lander through its deep space network. NASA's Jet Propulsion laboratory has sent a radio frequency to the lander in an attempt to establish contact.
The connection between the lander Vikram and the orbiter snapped on the early hours of September 7 when it was supposed to conduct a soft landing. Following a hard landing that took place instead, Vikram lander has been lying motionless in a tilted position on the Moon.
Also read: Chandrayaan 2: NASA attempts to make contact with lander Vikram on the Moon
Also read: Chandrayaan 2: Is it possible for ISRO to connect to lander Vikram?