Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Performing Very Well, Starts Experiments, Says ISRO Chief K Sivan

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K Sivan on Thursday said that the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is performing "very well" and has started carrying out all the experiments. K Sivan also said that a national-level committee is looking into what went wrong with the Chandrayaan-2 lander Vikram that lost communication with Earth during its descent on to the lunar surface. 

While speaking at an event in Ahmedabad, ISRO Chief K Sivan said, “Chandrayaan2 orbiter is doing very well. All payload operations have commenced, it's doing extremely well. We have got no signal from lander but orbiter is working very well. A national level committee is now analysing what really went wrong with the lander.” 

K Sivan, ISRO Chief: #Chandrayaan2 orbiter is doing very well. All payload operations have commenced, it's doing extremely well. We have got no signal from lander but orbiter is working very well. A national level committee is now analysing what really went wrong with the lander. pic.twitter.com/XZKC2KKoNO

— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2019

“Maybe after the committees submits the report, we will work on the future plan. Necessary approvals and other processes are required and we are working on that,” K Sivan added.  

ISRO Chief K Sivan: Maybe after the committees submits the report, we'll work on the future plan. Necessary approvals and other processes are required. We are working on that. https://t.co/mFe3B40pnT

— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2019

On the occasion, Sivan further asserted that Isro's next big focus will be on the missions to send a probe to the Sun and to sending humans to space on an Indian spacecraft. “Isro is also working on a rocket to launch small satellites,” Sivan concluded. 

On September 7, 2019, the nation was eagerly waiting for ISRO’s ambitious Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft for its soft landing on the Moon. However, communications with Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander to ISRO's ground station in Bengaluru were lost minutes before touchdown. 

Chandrayaan-2, India's second lunar mission, was launched on July 22, 2019 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on-board GSLV Mk-III. In Chandrayaan-2, a total of 13 payloads are distributed across the three modules where the Orbiter and Vikram Lander were stacked upon each other whereas the Pragyan Rover is housed inside the lander. The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft weighs approximately 3290 kilograms. The cost of the mega-project is Rs 978 crore. 

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