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India’s Moon Landing May Be Doomed

India’s Moon Landing May Be Doomed

5 years ago
Anonymous $4ckUSNo_FL

https://www.wired.com/story/indias-moon-landing-may-be-doomed/

India has lost contact with its Chandrayaan-2 lander, Vikram, which was scheduled to land near the lunar south pole on Friday. The landing proceeded as expected until the final braking phase, at which point the lander began to deviate from its expected trajectory. When Vikram was 2 kilometers above the lunar surface, the Indian Space Research Organization lost contact with the lander. During the last contact, the lander appeared to be approaching a landing site about one kilometer downrange of its target.

The Indian Space Research Organization hasn’t yet confirmed if the Vikram lander was destroyed upon impact, but the lack of communication from the lander is a troubling sign. If the lander did not survive the impact, India would be the second country to lose a lunar lander this year. In April, the Israeli Beresheet lunar lander also failed just before touchdown and was destroyed.