When Chandrayaan- 2 was launched on July 2, India geared up to make a soft landing on the moon. However, the night of September 6 did not go as planned and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) lost contact with the Vikram lander just 2.1 kms short of the final destination. While the residents of Ranchi waited with bated breath, they are extremely proud of the scientists and only have words of encouragement for the great feat.
For Dr Mohan Varma Former Head of the Department of Space Engineering and Rocketry and Former Dean of BIT, Mesra it is a major accomplishment and a great learning experience. “There are thousands of systems, sub- systems in the entire satellite, which have all functioned successfully. The loss of signal could be because of the local conditions on the surface or some malfunction. The reason will only be clear when ISRO analysis the data. A lot of learning has come from the data, which has been acquired during the flight, separations and the satellite changing orbits around the moon. Just the surface morphology part which the rover had to acquire was left. Next time around whatever has not gone right will be corrected by our scientists and let’s hope for the best in the future.”
“This cannot be called a total failure. We were absolutely on the right track. The south pole of the moon where India was supposed to make it mark has never been touched by any other country. All the efforts of the scientists and the entire team is a big achievement. I am not in the least disappointed. Maybe in the future, the scientists get some data which can pave the way to success next time,” said Dr Kiran Mehra retired professor Ranchi Women’s College who feels it is a big achievement for India.
Gaurav Pransu feels that this achievement is only because of the hard work of the scientists who worked for 18-20 hours a day. “If we are feeling so bad, imagine what the scientists would be going through. A major part of the mission-orbiting the moon was successful and will continue to take pictures for the next one year. Every Indian should be proud of this mission and feel that we have succeeded in 90 per cent of it.” Gaurav is a student of Integrated Maters in Physcis at BIT Mesra. He has also worked with ISRO as a research intern in Thin Films and Substrate Processing Division.
“Koshish karne walon ki kabhi haar nahi hoti. We will do better next time. I liked the way Prime Minister embraced the ISRO chairman after he declared that the mission had not gone off as per expectations. It was a very warm gesture and a great booster for the morale of the team,” said city based businessman Raju Hirani.
Tushar Rishi a student pursuing English honours, feels that it was a great effort. “. It was great effort by ISRO to attempt something like this. We will eventually make a successful landing on the moon someday. I salute the great spirit of team ISRO for making millions of Indians dream together,” he said.
