New Delhi: All was going well with Chandrayaan-2's Vikram Lander that began its descent at about 1.38 am on Saturday. When it was just 2.1 km away from the moon surface, the communication from the Lander to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) control room was lost.
After monitoring the situation, ISRO chief K Sivan announced that the communication has been lost.
"This is Mission Control Centre. Vikram lander 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 in a statement.
The Rs 978 crore Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was launched into space by heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) on July 22 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
It was comprised of three segments - the Orbiter (weighing 2,379 kg, eight payloads), Vikram Lander (1,471 kg, four payloads) and Pragyan Rover (27 kg, two payloads).
After revolving around the earth's orbit for nearly 23 days, Chandrayaan-2 began its journey to the moon on August 14. On September 2, Vikram separated from the Orbiter.
Chandrayaan-2 was India's first attempt at landing a spacecraft on the moon. So far, only the US, Russia and China have managed to place a spacecraft on the moon. But, no country has ever made a successful landing on the south polar region of the moon, where Vikram was to land.
Now, let us get some insight into the previous moon missions that the world has seen in the last five decades. The lists have been compiled by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
1950s
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneer 0 | USA | Aug. 17, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Sept. 23, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer 1 | USA | Oct. 11, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Oct. 11, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer 2 | USA | Nov. 8, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Dec. 4, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer 3 | USA | Dec. 7, 1958 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
Luna 1 | USSR | Jan. 2, 1959 | Jan. 4, 1959 | Impact | Partial Success; first Moon flyby |
Pioneer 4 | USA | March 3, 1959 | Mar. 4., 1959 | Flyby | Partial Sucess |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | June 18, 1959 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Luna 2 | USSR | Sept. 12, 1959 | Sept. 13, 1959 | Impact | Successful; first spacecraft to impact the Moon's surface |
Pioneer P-1 | USA | Sept. 24, 1959 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Luna 3 | USSR | Oct. 4, 1959 | Oct. 6, 1959 | Flyby | Successful; first pictures of the lunar farside. |
Pioneer P-3 | USA | Nov. 26, 1959 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
1960s
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 15, 1960 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 16, 1960 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer P-30 | USA | Sep. 25, 1960 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer P-31 | USA | Dec. 15. 1960 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 3 | USA | Jan. 26, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 4 | USA | April 26, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 5 | USA | Oct. 21, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Jan. 4, 1963 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 3, 1963 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 4 | USSR | April 2, 1963 | April 6, 1963 | Lander | Unsuccessful; flew past Moon. |
Ranger 6 | USA | Jan. 30, 1964 | Feb. 2, 1965 | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | March 21, 1964 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 20, 1964 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 7 | USA | July 28, 1964 | July 31, 1964 | Impact | Successful; first U.S. close-up pictures of the Moon |
Ranger 8 | USA | Feb. 17, 1965 | Feb. 20, 1965 | Impact | Successful |
Kosmos 60 | USSR | March 12, 1965 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 9 | USA | March 21, 1965 | March 24, 1965 | Impact | Successful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 10, 1965 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 5 | USSR | May 9, 1965 | May 12, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 6 | USSR | June 8, 1965 | June 11, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; flyby |
Zond 3 | USSR | July 18, 1965 | July 20, 1965 | Flyby | Successful |
Luna 7 | USSR | Oct. 4, 1965 | Oct. 7, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 8 | USSR | Dec. 3, 1965 | Dec. 6, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 9 | USSR | Jan. 31, 1966 | Feb. 3, 1966 | Lander | Successful; first lunar soft landing and first picture from the lunar surface |
Kosmos 111 | USSR | March 1, 1966 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Luna 10 | USSR | March 31, 1966 | April 3, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful; first lunar orbiter |
Surveyor 1 | USA | May 30, 1966 | June 2, 1966 | Lander | Successful; first U.S. Moon landing and first U.S. photo from the lunar surface. |
Lunar Orbiter 1 | USA | Aug. 10, 1966 | Aug. 14, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Luna 11 | USSR | Aug. 24, 1966 | Aug. 27, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Surveyor 2 | USA | Sept. 20, 1966 | Sept. 23, 1966 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 12 | USSR | Oct. 22, 1966 | Oct. 25, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Lunar Orbiter 2 | USA | Nov. 6, 1966 | Nov. 10, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Luna 13 | USSR | Dec. 21, 1966 | Dec. 24, 1966 | Lander | Successful |
Lunar Orbiter 3 | USA | Feb. 5, 1967 | Feb. 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success; camera failure |
Surveyor 3 | USA | April 17, 1967 | April 20, 1967 | Lander | Successful; visited on the Moon by Apollo 12 crew. |
Lunar Orbiter 4 | USA | May 4, 1967 | May 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success; camera failure |
Surveyor 4 | USA | July 14, 1967 | July 17, 1967 | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Lunar Orbiter 5 | USA | Aug. 1, 1967 | Aug. 5, 1967 | Orbiter | Successful |
Surveyor 5 | USA | Sept. 8, 1967 | Sept. 11, 1967 | Lander | Successful |
Surveyor 6 | USA | Nov. 7, 1967 | Nov. 10, 1967 | Lander | Successful |
Surveyor 7 | USA | Jan. 7, 1968 | Jan. 10, 1968 | Lander | Successful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 7, 1968 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 14 | USSR | April 7, 1968 | April 10, 1968 | Orbiter | Successful |
Zond 5 | USSR | Sept. 15, 1968 | Sept. 18, 1968 | Flyby | Successful; first living creatures to fly past the Moon |
Zond 6 | USSR | Nov. 10, 1968 | Nov. 14, 1968 | Flyby | Partial success; animal cargo lost on landing. |
Apollo 8 | USA | Dec. 21, 1968 | Dec. 24, 1968 | Orbiter | Success; first humans to orbit the Moon |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 19, 1969 | N/A | Rover | Unsuccessful; first attempted Moon rover |
Apollo 10 | USA | May 18, 1969 | May 21, 1969 | Orbiter | Successful; lander test in lunar orbit |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | June 14, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Luna 15 | USSR | July 13, 1960 | July 18, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Partial success; orbiter successful, sample return crashed on the Moon |
Apollo 11 | USA | July 16, 1969 | July 20, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; first humans to land on the Moon |
Zond 7 | USSR | Aug. 7, 1969 | Aug. 11, 1969 | Flyby | Successful |
Kosmos 300 | USSR | Sept. 23, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Kosmos 305 | USSR | Oct. 22, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Apollo 12 | USA | Nov. 14, 1969 | Nov. 17, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; rendezvous with Surveyor 3 on the surface of the moon. |
1970s
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 15, 1960 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 16, 1960 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer P-30 | USA | Sep. 25, 1960 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer P-31 | USA | Dec. 15. 1960 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 3 | USA | Jan. 26, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 4 | USA | April 26, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 5 | USA | Oct. 21, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Jan. 4, 1963 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 3, 1963 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 4 | USSR | April 2, 1963 | April 6, 1963 | Lander | Unsuccessful; flew past Moon. |
Ranger 6 | USA | Jan. 30, 1964 | Feb. 2, 1965 | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | March 21, 1964 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 20, 1964 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 7 | USA | July 28, 1964 | July 31, 1964 | Impact | Successful; first U.S. close-up pictures of the Moon |
Ranger 8 | USA | Feb. 17, 1965 | Feb. 20, 1965 | Impact | Successful |
Kosmos 60 | USSR | March 12, 1965 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 9 | USA | March 21, 1965 | March 24, 1965 | Impact | Successful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 10, 1965 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 5 | USSR | May 9, 1965 | May 12, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 6 | USSR | June 8, 1965 | June 11, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; flyby |
Zond 3 | USSR | July 18, 1965 | July 20, 1965 | Flyby | Successful |
Luna 7 | USSR | Oct. 4, 1965 | Oct. 7, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 8 | USSR | Dec. 3, 1965 | Dec. 6, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 9 | USSR | Jan. 31, 1966 | Feb. 3, 1966 | Lander | Successful; first lunar soft landing and first picture from the lunar surface |
Kosmos 111 | USSR | March 1, 1966 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Luna 10 | USSR | March 31, 1966 | April 3, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful; first lunar orbiter |
Surveyor 1 | USA | May 30, 1966 | June 2, 1966 | Lander | Successful; first U.S. Moon landing and first U.S. photo from the lunar surface. |
Lunar Orbiter 1 | USA | Aug. 10, 1966 | Aug. 14, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Luna 11 | USSR | Aug. 24, 1966 | Aug. 27, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Surveyor 2 | USA | Sept. 20, 1966 | Sept. 23, 1966 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 12 | USSR | Oct. 22, 1966 | Oct. 25, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Lunar Orbiter 2 | USA | Nov. 6, 1966 | Nov. 10, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Luna 13 | USSR | Dec. 21, 1966 | Dec. 24, 1966 | Lander | Successful |
Lunar Orbiter 3 | USA | Feb. 5, 1967 | Feb. 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success; camera failure |
Surveyor 3 | USA | April 17, 1967 | April 20, 1967 | Lander | Successful; visited on the Moon by Apollo 12 crew. |
Lunar Orbiter 4 | USA | May 4, 1967 | May 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success; camera failure |
Surveyor 4 | USA | July 14, 1967 | July 17, 1967 | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Lunar Orbiter 5 | USA | Aug. 1, 1967 | Aug. 5, 1967 | Orbiter | Successful |
Surveyor 5 | USA | Sept. 8, 1967 | Sept. 11, 1967 | Lander | Successful |
Surveyor 6 | USA | Nov. 7, 1967 | Nov. 10, 1967 | Lander | Successful |
Surveyor 7 | USA | Jan. 7, 1968 | Jan. 10, 1968 | Lander | Successful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 7, 1968 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 14 | USSR | April 7, 1968 | April 10, 1968 | Orbiter | Successful |
Zond 5 | USSR | Sept. 15, 1968 | Sept. 18, 1968 | Flyby | Successful; first living creatures to fly past the Moon |
Zond 6 | USSR | Nov. 10, 1968 | Nov. 14, 1968 | Flyby | Partial success; animal cargo lost on landing. |
Apollo 8 | USA | Dec. 21, 1968 | Dec. 24, 1968 | Orbiter | Success; first humans to orbit the Moon |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 19, 1969 | N/A | Rover | Unsuccessful; first attempted Moon rover |
Apollo 10 | USA | May 18, 1969 | May 21, 1969 | Orbiter | Successful; lander test in lunar orbit |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | June 14, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Luna 15 | USSR | July 13, 1960 | July 18, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Partial success; orbiter successful, sample return crashed on the Moon |
Apollo 11 | USA | July 16, 1969 | July 20, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; first humans to land on the Moon |
Zond 7 | USSR | Aug. 7, 1969 | Aug. 11, 1969 | Flyby | Successful |
Kosmos 300 | USSR | Sept. 23, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Kosmos 305 | USSR | Oct. 22, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Apollo 12 | USA | Nov. 14, 1969 | Nov. 17,1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; rendezvous with Surveyor 3 on the surface of the moon. |
1980s: No lunar missions launced in this decade.
1990s
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SMART-1 | Europe | 9/27/2003 | 11/15/2004 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful; first European Moon mission |
SELENE (Kaguya) | Japan | 9/14/2007 | 10/3/2007 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful |
Chang'e 1 | China | 10/24/2007 | 11/5/2007 | Orbiter/impactor | Successful; first Chinese Moon mission |
Chandrayaan-1 | India | 10/22/2008 | 11/12/2008 | Orbiter | Successful |
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbter (LRO) | USA | 6/18/2009 | 6/23/2009 | Orbiter | (Active Mission) Successful; extended mission in progress |
LCROSS | USA | 6/18/2009 | 10/9/2009 | Impact | Successful; impact of LRO upper stages |
2000s
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SMART-1 | Europe | 9/27/2003 | 11/15/2004 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful; first European Moon mission |
SELENE (Kaguya) | Japan | 9/14/2007 | 10/3/2007 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful |
Chang'e 1 | China | 10/24/2007 | 11/5/2007 | Orbiter/impactor | Successful; first Chinese Moon mission |
Chandrayaan-1 | India | 10/22/2008 | 11/12/2008 | Orbiter | Successful |
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbter (LRO) | USA | 6/18/2009 | 6/23/2009 | Orbiter | (Active Mission) Successful; extended mission in progress |
LCROSS | USA | 6/18/2009 | 10/9/2009 | Impact | Successful; impact of LRO upper stages |
2010s
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chang'e 2 | China | 10/1/2010 | 10/5/2010 | Orbiter | Successful |
ARTEMIS | USA | 2010 | 2011 | Orbiters | (Active Mission) Successful; twin spacecraft on an extended lunar mission after successful Earth observartions |
Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) | USA | 9/10/2011 | 1/1/2012 | Orbiters | Successful; twin spacecraft |
Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) | USA | 9/7/2013 | 10/6/2013 | Orbiter | Successful |
Chang'e 3 | China | 12/6/2013 | 12/14/2013 | Lander | (Active Mission) Successful; delivered Yutu rover to lunar surface |
Yutu | China | 12/6/2013 | 12/14/2013 | Rover | Successful; first non-Soviet rover on the Moon |
Chang'e 5-Test Vehicle | China | 10/23/2014 | 10/27/2014 | Flyby | Successful |
Queqiao | China | 5/20/2018 | Orbiter | Successful; lunar relay satellite | |
Chang'e 4 and Yutu 2 | China | 12/7/2018 | Lander, Rover | Successful; first lunar farside landing | |
Beresheet | Israel | 2/22/2019 | 4/11/209 | Lander | Unsuccessful; first lunar landing attempt by a private company |
(Credit: NASA)
Chandrayaan-2 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-1, which was launched in 2008. India's second mission to the moon was approved just during Chandrayaan-1 launch. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Bengaluru to witness the moment live, encouraged the ISRO scientists with his motivating words. "There will be a new dawn and a brighter tomorrow very soon," PM Modi said.
He addressed the scientists at the centre and inspired them to march on by saying, "You came as close as you could. Stay steady and look ahead."
"To our scientists, I want to say 'India is with you'. You are exceptional professionals who have made an incredible contribution to the nation's progress. You have given your best always, and will give us several more opportunities to smile about," the Prime Minister added.
"Our determination to get closer to Moon today has just got stronger," he further said.
Minutes later, the Prime Minister was seen hugging and consoling ISRO chief K Sivan, who burst into tears as PM Modi was about to leave.
(With agency inputs)