2.1 km to go, contact lost with lander

A billion hopes appeared to have stumbled at the final hurdle.

As the entire nation watched with bated breath, the Chandrayaan-2 lander lost contact the ground station when it was 2.1 km from the moon’s surface early Saturday morning.

The central green line indicates the trajectory path of Vikram lander two minutes before landing. (ISRO live screengrab)

Signals from the lander were lost during the critical last moments. ISRO Chairperson K Sivan said, "the lander descent was as planned and normal performance observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, communications from the lander to the ground station was lost." Sivan said the data was being analysed.

India’s boldest lunar mission had ventured to achieve what no other nation has done before: An unprecedented soft landing on the Moon’s South polar region.
Enduring ‘15 terrifying minutes’ of powered descent, Vikram began its descent on to a high plain between the two lunar craters of Manzinus C and Simpelius N, at a latitude of about 70 degrees south.

Witness to this tragic turn was Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, who had landed four hours earlier. He said ups and downs were part of megaprojects and said Isro will taste success soon.

Click here for all the live updates on the Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander

A galaxy of top scientists, seasoned space buffs, and over 70 school children had gathered to witness the moment live.

Tracking every nanosecond of the lander’s descent, scientists at the Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) here had their eyes glued to their consoles. The atmosphere inside the control room was electric, a mix of extreme caution, precision and anxiety.

The descent had kicked off with a Rough Braking Start at an altitude of 30 km. The time was 1.38 am IST. But it was just the beginning of a hyper tense manoeuvre, never attempted before by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Ten minutes later, just when the lander reached a height of about 7.4 km from the lunar surface, it kicked off another critical manoeuvre, the Fine Braking Start.

The rover was designed to probe the Moon surface for an entire Lunar day, equivalent to 14 Earth days. Besides chemical analysis, Pragyan’s task was cut out.

WATCH: Vikram lander's descent on Moon's south pole

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while encouraging the scientists, asked them not to lose hope and that he is with them. "This is not a small achievement. The nation is proud of you," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi left ISRO after interacting with the students who were brought to witness the historic event.