Billion Heartbreaks As ISRO's Chandrayaan-2 Loses Contact With Vikram Lander: 10 Points

India woke up to a heart-breaking news on Saturday as ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 lost contact with Vikram Lander just minutes before it’s much-anticipated soft-landing on Moon. Just 2.1 km from the touchdown, Vikram lander went silent. Shortly after realising what has happened, ISRO confirmed the news on Twitter. “This is Mission Control Centre. #VikramLander 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 analysed,” ISRO said on its official Twitter handle. The brave attempt by India’s premier space agency is being lauded by many. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present at the ISRO headquarters to witness the much-anticipated soft-landing, spoke to all the scientists and said the nation is proud of them.

Here are 10 latest updates that you must know about ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2:

1: After spending the crucial hours with the scientists at Bengaluru-based ISRO’s headquarters, PM Modi is set to address the nation at 8 am today.

2: PM Modi told the scientists to be courageous and not to lose heart.

3: Interacting with crestfallen scientists at ISRO’s control room, the Prime Minister said, "Whatever you have done till now is no mean feat."

4: “India is proud of our scientists! They’ve given their best and have always made India proud. These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be! Chairman @isro gave updates on Chandrayaan-2. We remain hopeful and will continue working hard on our space programme,” PM Modi said in an inspiring tweet.

5: Scientists says that the crucial signal from Vikram lander was lost during what is known as the ‘Fine Breaking’ phase of its final descent.

6: ISRO boss had previously described these final moments as ‘most terrifying’ 15 minutes of the lunar mission.

7: Although the scientists were observing the data to reach on any conclusion, there is still hope that the agency might be able to establish contact with the mission.

8: Launched on July 22, Chandrayaan-2 entered the Moon's orbit on 20 August, a month after take-off. The touchdown of Vikram lander was scheduled between 1:30 am and 2:30 am, followed by the rollout of its rover named ‘Pragyaan’ between 5:30 am and 6.30 am.

9: According to ISRO, Lunar South Pole’s region has traces of hydrogen, ammonia, methane, sodium, mercury and silver making it an untapped source of essential resources.

10: If successful, India would have become fourth nation in the world to land its spacecraft on Moon. Before this, only the US, Russia and China have achieved this feat.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Just 2.1 km from the touchdown, Vikram lander went silent. 
• After realising what happened, ISRO confirmed news on Twitter.
• Signal from Vikram lander was lost during the ‘Fine Breaking’ phase.