NEW DELHI – India’s ISRO experts say time is running out and thepossibility of re-establishing communication looks “less and less probable.”
Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation K Sivan said on Saturdaythat the space agency will try to establish link with the lander for 14days.
After lander Vikram was located on the lunar surface by Chandrayaan-2’son-board cameras on Sunday, he reiterated that those efforts would continue.
A senior official associated with the mission said, “Progressively… astime goes by… it’s difficult(to establish link)”
However, with “right orientation” it can still generate power and rechargebatteries with solar panels, he added.
“But it looks less and less probable, progressively,” the official said oncondition of anonymity.
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Another top ISRO official said “hard-landing” of Vikram on the Lunarsurface has made the task of linking again with it that much difficult asit may not have the “right orientation,” and may not have landed on itsfour legs.
“Impact shock may have caused damage to the lander,” he said.
The lander was designed to execute a soft landing on the lunar surface andto function for one lunar day, which is equivalent to about 14 earth days.
