Chandrayaan 2 Landing LIVE Updates: Communication with the lander has been lost, confirms ISRO chairman – Firstpost, Firstpost.com

03: (IST)

Let’s hope the Vikram lander hasn’t met the same fate the Israel Beresheet mission did last year!   That’s all for now, folks!  Stay tuned to our social feeds and dedicated Chandrayaan 2 domain for more updates

03: 13 (IST)

Here’s another theory about the lander’s status from YouTube star / gamer / programmer / astrophysicist Scott Manley

03: 11 (IST)

Announcement from ISRO coming in  Unfortunately, it isn’t about the lander. The planned post-landing press conference has been cancelled.

02: 30 (IST)

An astronomer offers a compelling theory for what could have happened .

02: 25 (IST)

PM Modi give Dr K Sivan the ‘I’ll be proud of you either way’ pat before addressing the anxious crowd.  Whatever has been accomplished so far is no small feat – it’s an incredible serve to scientists, to the world, says Narendra Modi.  Our (larger) mission will continue whether we get good or bad news, he added.

02: 19 (IST)

What we know for sure so far  “Vikram lander’s descent was planned and decsent was normal till 2.1 km. After this, communication link between the lander and ground station was lost. ISRO is currently analysing the data,” announced the ISRO chairman.  We saw the speed of descent was a little unexpected, as it seemed to speed up as it lost altitude. That’s the deviation we saw on the graph.

02: 08 (IST)

Communication between the lander & orbiter has been switched on  That’ll help keep the orbiter listening for any signal the lander may throw its way. Doesn’t change the fact that ISRO is yet to confirm the status of the landing module.

01: 56 (IST )

It’s not time to worry yet.  ISRO is waiting for updates from mission control.

01: (IST)

Vertical descent next  The fine breaking phase has now ended, with less than 5 minutes and 2.7 kilometers to go till touchdown!

01: 45 (IST)

Lander module slowing down further by the end of the rough breaking phase.  Almost towards the end of the descent, the lander is now moving at speeds less than 60 mps, with the intention of soft-landing on the surface at 0 mps.

01: 42 (IST)

“Brute” breaking underway  2 minutes and 20 seconds into the descent, the lander is expected to reduce the speed of the spacecraft with brute force, by 480 meters per second.

01: 39 (IST)

Descent begins!   The descent has now begun! Four of the module’s propulsion engines will be used in this first ‘rough braking’.

01: 27 (IST)

Prime Minister of India in the house! Modi appears to have reached the control room.   The Soul  (and just in time too! 10 minutes to descent.)

01: (IST)

Update on the Chandrayaan 2 orbiter  The orbiter, which weighed 2, 370 kg at the time of launch, gets 70% of its mass from fuel. It carried ~ 1, 680 kgs of fuel for the road, and to make in-orbit adjustments over its year-long mission.

01: (IST)

ISRO’s livestream is now a-go!

00: 23 (IST)

On the 15 mins of Terror: How scary is this, really? (2/2)    NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger: In this case of the Moon, there is no atmosphere. So, the Rover and Lander (modules) have to decelerate from a speed which roughly 25 – 30 times that of the fastest aircraft on land. If you are on the rover, you won’t hear anything as there is vacuum of space there.  So it’s a kind of freaky wow kind of thing, to bring the lander down from that speed. It is well thought out and it’s very autonomous.

23: 57 (IST)

NASA astronaut and space analyst Jerry Linenger weighs in on what the landing means for the world!  “I just want everyone to know that the whole world is following this and it is not just Indians. This is the first time any country is going to the South Pole of the Moon!” says Linenger on Nat Geo’s live stream. “India is leading this and as a representative of the US, we are nervous and we are hoping for success. This increases the knowledge base of the Moon”

22: 51 (IST)

Important timestamps to note for tonight’s Vikram Lander touchdown    01. 38 am: Start of landing module’s rough braking and descent    01. 48 am: Start of landing module’s fine braking and descent    01. 50 am: Start of local navigation around the landing site    01. 52 am: First image of the Moon’s surface to be beamed back to Earth    01. 53 am: Vikram touchdown    03. 53 am: Pragyan ramp deployment    04. 23 am: Pragyan rover powers ON!    05. 03 am: Solar panels on Pragyan rover are deployed    05. 19 am: Pragyan Rover rolls on down to the moon’s surface    05. 29 am: Pragyan Rover touchdown!    05. 45 am: Photograph of the Vikram lander by Pragyan

22: (IST)

Set your alarms for 1. 10 am  Just as a reminder, ISRO’s live video stream of the landing will begin at 1. 10 am. The livestream will be available at this link.

22: 17 (IST)

Anticipation & excitement from ISRO’s control room right now is palpable!

21: 40 (IST)

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What expected over the next few hours?    The Vikram lander is currently in a low orbit around the moon, gearing up for its final 15 – minute flight to the surface of the moon. The actual landing will be fully-automated, and is planned for 1. 40 – 1. 55 am tonight.  The last leg of its descent will be unpowered – led by the moon’s gravity and no engines. This is to ensure that the lander doesn’t kick up a massive plume of dust. Dust can interfere with instruments and reduce the efficiency of the solar panels.  Once a set of internal diagnostics are run, the rover Pragyan will exit the lander some four hours later, between 5. 30 am and 6. 30 am on the morning tomorrow.  We know what comes next, right? #MoonSelfiiiiiiiieeeeeeeees!

21: 20 (IST)

Pragyan Rover : All you need to know  Pragyan is the third component of the Chandrayaan 2 mission.  It is a robotic vehicle that will traverse the lunar surface on six wheels that are painted in the colors of the tiranga. It is expected to travel at a speed of one centimeter per second and will hence travel a total distance of half a kilometer. The rover is powered by solar energy and will spend a total of 14 Earth days carrying out its scientific experiments.  Read more about the Pragyan Rover.

21: 16 (IST)

Vikram Lander: All you need t o know  The Vikram Lander is a module that will enable the delivery of the Pragyan Rover to the lunar surface while conducting a few experiments of its own. The rover will roll out once the lander has successfully landed at the desired spot. It also consists of several instruments or payloads that will be constantly carrying out experiments throughout its mission time.  It’s named ‘Vikram’ to honor the late Dr Vikram Sarabhai, who was the former chairman of ISRO and is widely regarded as the ‘Father of the Indian Space Program’.  Read more about the Vikram Lander.

21: 08 (IST)

From liftoff to landing, the Chandrayaan 2 mission featured 7 “orbit-lowering” manoeuvres, which were critical to its success. Why were those necessary?  In-orbit manoeuvres are critically important – somewhat like breaks in a car. These breaks themselves are called liquid apogee motors (which go by “thrusters” in scifi). These tiny, powerful motors were fired up to adjust the altitude of the spacecraft and its speed while already in orbit.   https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/chandrayaan-2-to-enter-an-orbit-around-the-moon-today-two-weeks-before-planned-soft-landing-7185031 .html

20: (IST)

Chandrayaan 2 is show of India’s potential, but there’s still work that needs doing in India’s space scene.  A solid rethink of India’s engineering education will benefit the space program immensely, according to some experts.   https://www.firstpost.com/india/chandrayaan-2-shows-indias-potential-but-we-need-to-make-it-the-kennedy-moment-for-our-engineering-education-6973581 .html

20: 48 (IST)

Chandrayaan 2 is one of many interplanetary missions in ISRO’s (near- future) pipeline …  Among the destinations are Mars, the Moon, Venus, the Sun’s corona, there’s even an interplanetary mission planned to study the “space” between cosmic bodies itself!   https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/after-chandrayaan-2-isros-upcoming-interplanetary-missions-to-mars-venus-the-sun-6664441 .html

18: (IST)

Your weight on the moon is 1 / 6th of that on the Earth!  The Moon’s surface gravity is weaker because it is far less massive than Earth. That is why planets such as Jupiter and Saturn have such a strong gravitational force due to their giant size.

16: 57 (IST)

Timeline of successful Moon missions  Since Apollo 11 back in 1969 there have been several manned and unmanned missions to the moon. India’s own Chandrayaan 1 was operational for 10 months.

16: 51 (IST)

Nat Geo ropes in astronaut, space analyst Jerry Linenger to showcase Chandrayaan 2 soft-landing  Former NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger, who spent five months in the orbiting Russian space station Mir before it was decommissioned, says that India’s contribution towards space exploration over the years has been instrumental in unraveling some great discoveries in space science. You can check out the Nat Geo link here on Hotstar.

15: 24 (IST)

Glitch in the road  The original date of the launch was postponed by a week after ISRO scientists found technical fault in a fuel connecting joint in the GSLV-MKIII rocket. But that did not deter them, ISRO made a few changes and off it went.  You need to read more about it, i assure you.   https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/chandrayaan-2-many-changes-made-to-flight-plan-to-ensure-7-september-landing-on-the-moon-7026751 .html

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Chandrayaan 2 Lander’s soft-landing will use a new configuration & means of operating thrusters  Separation from orbiter isn’t a crucial part of the mission.  For the Vikram lander to land softly in a controlled manner, and will use a new technique, with throttlable control over the engine’s thrusters. This is something ISRO is attempting for the first time, says the chairman.

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Did you know?    One day on the Moon lasts as long as 29 .5 Earth days .

10: 31 (IST)

While a successful landing will make the entire nation proud and will be commendable on ISRO’s part, Narendra Modi said it will be a “befitting tribute to Dr Sarabhai”.   https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/vikram-lander-reaching-the-moon-will-be-befitting-tribute-to-dr-sarabhai-from-crores-of-indians-says-narendra- modi – 7152301 .html

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The main function of the Vikram lander is to carry the rover to the moon. But it will also conduct a few experiments of its own.  You can read all about the lander and its duties here.

09: 14 (IST )

You definitely want to watch Vikram land on the moon LIVE and be a part of India’s historic moment.  Read on to find out how you can do that.   https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/chandrayaan-2-landing-live-when-and-where-to-watch-the-soft-landing-from-isros-control-room-7294151 .html