All was going well till the last two minutes of the powered descent, when tense moments gripped the Mission Control Room.
According to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the Lander Vikram was very close to the landing site at the 13th minute, when it was supposed to begin the last phase of the touchdown. It had reduced its initial velocity of 1.6km/sec to half within the first 7 minutes and had come down to an altitude of 7kms. The first two phase of the lunar descent went as planned.
Scientists were seen getting into a huddle to discuss the operations, following which ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Here are the live updates:
Watch PM Narendra Modi hugged and consoled ISRO Chief K Sivan after he(Sivan) broke down.
There will be a new dawn and a brighter tomorrow very soon. There is no failure in science, only experiment and efforts: PM Modi
There will be a new dawn and a brighter tomorrow very soon: PM Modi
As important as the final result is the journey & the effort. I can proudly say that the effort was worth it & so was the journey. Our team worked hard, travelled far & those teachings will always remain with us. The learnings from today will make us stronger and better: PM Modi
Resilience & tenacity are central to India’s ethos.In our glorious history, we have faced moments that may have slowed us but they have never crushed our spirit. We have bounced back again & gone on to do spectacular things. This is why our civilisation stands tall: PM Modi
For last few hours the entire nation was worried. Everyone stands in solidarity with our scientists. We are proud of our space program. Today our resolve to touch the moon has grown even stronger: PM Modi
We will rise to the occasion and scale newer heights of success.
To our scientists I want to say- India is with you! You are exceptional professionals who have made an incredible contribution to national progress: PM Modi
Friends I could feel what you were going through few hours back, your eyes were conveying a lot. You live for India's honour, I salute you: PM Narendra Modi
PM Modi begins his interaction with ISRO scientists
Chandrayaan-2 orbiter healthy and safe in lunar orbit: ISRO official.
PM Modi to meet ISRO scientists
Country is proud of ISRO: President Kovind hails scientists for 'exemplary commitment and courage'
Journey of Chandrayaan 2 so far and what lies ahead is no less than an achievement: Smrit Irani
Enthusiasm turns into despair at mission operations complex
Enthusiasm soon turned into a sense of despair at ISRO's Mission Operations Complex as India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2's lander 'Vikram' lost communication with the ground stations on Saturday just ahead of the soft landing.
The mission that started from July 22 with the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft achieved one milestone after another in a phased manner. However, the Vikram module lost contact minutes before the crucial touchdown on the lunar surface in the early hours of Saturday.
Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi will address the nation from ISRO Control Centre today (September 07, 2019) at 0800 hrs IST.
We will cover the last mile.....SOON: Piyush Goyal
Deviprasad Karnik, scientist ISRO, on being asked if Vikram Lander has crashed: Data is being analysed. We don't have any result yet. It takes time. We are not sure.
This is Mission Control Centre. Vikram Lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, communication from Lander to the ground stations was lost. Data is being analyzed, tweets ISRO
India is proud of our scientists: PM Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses crestfallen ISRO scientists. "Nation is proud of you, be courageous," he says.
These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be! We remain hopeful and will continue working hard on our space programme: PM Modi tweets.
Communication lost with Vikram Lander at 2.1 km from Lunar surface.
At 2:18 am ISRO Chairman, Dr Sivan said, "The powered descent was going as planned till it was just 2.1 kms above the lunar surface. Subsequently, the communication with the Lander was lost. The data is being analyzed."
ISRO’s achievement with getting Chandrayaan-2 so far has made every Indian proud: Amit Shah
Amid uncertainty over Chandrayaan 2's Vikram lander which lost communication with the ground station, Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that ISRO's achievement with the spacecraft so far has made every Indian proud.
Your work not in vain, Rahul Gandhi tells ISRO scientists
Moments after ISRO announced it had lost communication with its lander Vikram as it was descending towards the moon's surface on Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated the space agency for their "incredible" work which was an "inspiration to every Indian".
"Congratulations to the team at #ISRO for their incredible work on the Chandrayaan 2 Moon Mission. Your passion and dedication is an inspiration to every Indian," he tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses crestfallen ISRO scientists. "Nation is proud of you, be courageous," he says.
These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be! We remain hopeful and will continue working hard on our space programme: PM Modi tweets.
Communication lost with Vikram Lander at 2.1 km from Lunar surface.
At 2:18 am ISRO Chairman, Dr Sivan said, "The powered descent was going as planned till it was just 2.1 kms above the lunar surface. Subsequently, the communication with the Lander was lost. The data is being analyzed."
Your work not in vain, Rahul Gandhi tells ISRO scientists
Moments after ISRO announced it had lost communication with its lander Vikram as it was descending towards the moon's surface on Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated the space agency for their "incredible" work which was an "inspiration to every Indian".
"Congratulations to the team at #ISRO for their incredible work on the Chandrayaan 2 Moon Mission. Your passion and dedication is an inspiration to every Indian," he tweeted.
Lauding the ISRO team's efforts on getting Vikram close to the moon's surface, he said: "Your work is not in vain. It has laid the foundation for many more path breaking & ambitious Indian space missions."
Tense moments Mission Control Room during last 2 min
All was going well till the last two minutes of the powered descent, when tense moments gripped the Mission Control Room.
According to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the Lander Vikram was very close to the landing site at the 13th minute, when it was supposed to begin the last phase of the touchdown. It had reduced its initial velocity of 1.6km/sec to half within the first 7 minutes and had come down to an altitude of 7kms. The first two phase of the lunar descent went as planned.
Scientists were seen getting into a huddle to discuss the operations, following which ISRO Chairman Dr K Sivan briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
ISRO is yet to issue any update on the status of the mission. (Inputs by Srishti Choudhary)
ISRO awaits data from 'Vikram Lander'
ISRO chief K Sivan had a word with PM Modi
Rough breaking of Vikram Lander ends and Fine braking phase starts
Scientists at ISRO monitor, as Vikram Lander begins its descent on the south pole of the moon
Powered descent - Rough Braking of Vikram Lander begins.
ISRO's Vikram Lander begins its descent to the South Pole region of the moon.
During the process, Lander Vikram which separated from the orbiter on Sep 2 would slowly lower down on the lunar surface. It is currently orbiting 35 kms above the moon, and has Orbiter exactly revolving above it in a higher altitude nearly 100 kms above.
The thrusters would be fired in four different phases - rough braking which will bring it to 7.4 km above lunar surface from initial 35 kms, followed by absolute navigation control to reduce the altitude to 5 kms and then fine braking to bring it to just 400 metres above the surface. In the end, it will have only vertical descent to slowly touch the surface.
PM Modi reaches ISTRAC, Bengaluru
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the ISRO Centre in Bengaluru to watch the soft landing of Vikram lander on South Pole region of the moon. ISRO Chief K Sivan briefs him about the status of the mission.
Modi will also interact with about 70 students from across the country at the network centre after Vikram's landing and address them.
Scientists gear up for the soft landing of Vikram lander on the South Pole region of the moon. 60 students from across the country, who were selected through the ISRO's 'Space Quiz' competition to watch the landing along with PM Modi, also present at the ISRO centre
Watch all the live proceeding from ISTRAC, Bengaluru
Less than an hour for Vikram Lander to shine on moon
Amzon's Jeff Bezos rooting for India
15 minutes of terror
landing is a complex manoeuvre, with Kailasavadivoo Sivan, the head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), calling it "15 minutes of terror".
Less than 3 hours to go !
Chandrayaan-2 Pragyan shows how AI is helping space exploration
As India's second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-2, is poised to make a soft landing on the southern surface of the moon in the early hours of Saturday, the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered rover of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), will play a significant role in this mission's success.
Christened 'Pragyan' (wisdom in Sanskrit), the homegrown solar-powered robotic vehicle that will manoeuvre the lunar surface on six wheels, comprises a Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) from the Laboratory for Electro Optic Systems (LEOS) in Bengaluru to identify elements present near the landing site, and an Alpha Particle Induced X-ray Spectroscope (APIXS) from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad that will inspect the composition of the elements near the landing site.
All about Vikram Lander
Vikram lander weighs 1,471 kilograms and can communicate with Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangaluru, as well as with the Orbiter and Pragyan rover. As per the ISRO, the lander is designed to execute a soft-landing on the lunar surface at a touchdown velocity of 2 metres per second.
The mission's payloads consist of Terrain Mapping Camera-2, Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer, Solar X-Ray Monitor, Imaging IR Spectrometer among others.
PM Modi at ISRO headquarters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru around midnight to watch the final descend of Chandrayaan-2. Over 60 high school students across the country who cleared an online space quiz last month will watch the historic event with Modi.
Space scientists exude confidence, as Vikram hours away from landing on moon
With Lander Vikram only hours away from attempting a soft landing on the moon, scientists from various space research centres say that they are confident about the success of the mission.
"Everything has been simulated and tested. We are confident. Even though the success rate of moon landing is low, but our competency is more. We will definitely land," said one of the scientists Vilas Rathore, who is spacecraft manager for Cartosat satellites, which are part of India's Remote Sensing Programme.
Hundreds of scientists from various research centres have gathered at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Peenya in Bengaluru to watch Chandrayaan-2 attempt a historic soft landing on the moon.
In Moon mission, the best of Indian talent and tenacity on display
Lander Vikram stood poised delicately above the Moon’s surface on Friday night, preparing for a final lunar descent that will take it out of the control of human minders huddled in Bengaluru’s ground control.
A tight security ring girded the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (Isro’s) Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network station ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival on Friday night to watch Vikram make a soft-landing near the Moon’s south pole, scheduled for 1.40 am.
