Science
Chandrayaan 2: NASA Shoots Radio Signals To Wake Up Vikram Lander
ISRO is trying hard to restore communication with the beauglered Vikram Lander, which fell on the surface of the moon. With only a few days left for the one lunar day to end, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has stepped into to resolve the disconnected communication. If you are unaware, one lunar day is equal to 14 earth days.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the NASA has reportedly dispatched radio signals to Vikram Lander. The NASA’s DSN operator Richard Stephenson has revealed that the signals were sent in a bid to restore the lost communication link with the lander.
It remains to be seen as to how successful the operation will be because the lander is in the titled position. There is no confirmation that the lander is fully intact. If the Vikram Lander communication is established, then ISRO will be able to talk with the Pragyan rover. The chances are bleak because the rover is still housed inside the lander and the solar panels are non-functional.
Astronomer Scott Tilley revealed that NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) has already started to beam the radio frequency to the lander. Tilley had successfully managed to locate US weather satellite IMAGE in 2018, which was lost in the space.
NASA’s JET will continue to keep track of the signals from the Vikram Lander until the completion of the one lunar day. The ground stations won’t be able to measure any signals after the mandatory 14 days. Furthermore, Tilley added that the chances of establishing communication with the lander are slim. Richard Stephenson, who works as a DSN operator with NASA also took to twitter and revealed that they are trying the best to recover the lander.
Even though ISRO claims that the have access to the thermal image of the Vikram Lander, the agency hasn’t released the image yet. NASA will also share the before and after images to the ISRO. Meanwhile, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is scheduled to cross the location on September 17 where Vikram has lander and will probably snap in the images.
That said, both ISRO and NASA are trying hard to recover Vikram Lander from the sleep mode. We hope Vikram will wake up. In case if both agencies are not successful, then we can assume that certain parts such as batteries and sensors are damaged as a result of the hard landing.
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Science
ISRO releases first illuminated image captured by Chandrayaan-2 Imaging Infrared Spectrometer
The Imaging Infrared Spectrometer (IIRS) integrated with the Chandrayaan-2 is designed to measure the reflected sunlight. The IIRS is designed to emit part of Moonlight from the lunar surface in narrow including contiguous spectral channels (bands) ranging from ~800 – 5000 nanometer (0.8-5.0 micrometer (µm)).
The Imaging Infrared Spectrometer makes use of grating to split and disperse the reflected sunlight (and emitted component) into different spectral bands. The main purpose of the IIRS is to understand the origin and evolution of the Moon in a geologic context by mapping the lunar surface mineral alongside volatile composition using signatures in the reflected solar spectrum.
ISRO has released the first illuminated image of the lunar surface as captured by the IIRS. The image shows part of the lunar farside in the northern hemisphere. You will be able to view few prominent craters such as (Sommerfield, Stebbins, and Kirkwood from the image released by the ISRO.
According to reports, the IIRS could successfully measure the variations in the reflected solar radiation that bounces off the lunar surface from different kinds of surface types such as crater central peaks, crater floors. The IIRS could also view fresh reworked ejecta associated with small craterlets within the crater floor of a large crater in addition to the sun-illuminated inner rims of craters.
The variations in the spectral radiance are primarily due to the mineralogical and compositional variations that exist in the lunar surface. It is also due to the effect of space weathering.
ISRO has released the images captured by the Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) included with the Chandrayaan2’s Orbiter. According to ISRO sources, the camera offers the highest megapixel ever launched any moon mission. The images expose the surface of the moon with craters.
#ISRO
Have a look at the images taken by #Chandrayaan2‘s Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC).
For more images please visit https://t.co/YBjRO1kTcL pic.twitter.com/K4INnWKbaM— ISRO (@isro) October 4, 2019
The Orbiter High Resolution Camera (OHRC) bundled with Chandrayaan-2 provides very high spatial resolution images of the moon. The Orbiter operates in the visible Panchromatic band between 450nm to 800nm. The space agency will be able to capture the sharpest images with a spatial resolution of 25 cm from a 100 km orbit.
In a statement released to the press, the ISRo revealed that the OHRC images were acquired at 4.38 IST on September 5 from 100km altitude. The image covered a part of BOGUSLAWSKY E Crater and surroundings located in the southern polar area of the moon.
ISRO lifted off the prestigious Chandrayaan-2 moon mission with great expectations. The whole mission lasted over two months with several manovures. This includes separation of the orbiter with Vikram Lander. The Pragyan Rover was embedded inside the lander.
The whole Chandrayaan-2 mission was programmed in such a way that the rover enters the surface of the moon after the completion of the Vikram Lander touch down. If you follow ISRO launch missions, you will never forget September 7 because it is on this day that the lander was supposed to touch down on the moon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present at the mission control center to watch the golden moment. However, the expectations and happiness lasted only a few minutes because the lander disappeared just five minutes before the scheduled touchdown. Even though the whole mission was going as planned, the problem occurred during the descent stage when the lander reportedly lost control and fell on the surface of the moon.
ISRO had lost Vikram Lander and Paragtyan Rover embedded inside it. However, the orbiter bundled with the Chandrayaan-2 mission is still working perfectly. The interesting fact is that the Orbiter has got an overall lifespan of 7 years, which is sufficient to study the various factors on the moon.
The fate of Vikram Lander, which was accompanied along with the ambitious Chandrayaan-2 is still in question. NASA took to Twitter and revealed that their orbiter failed to detect the lander on the surface of the moon. However, the US-based space agency managed to capture the site on the moon where the lander is supposed to soft land.
Our @LRO_NASA mission imaged the targeted landing site of India’s Chandrayaan-2 lander, Vikram. The images were taken at dusk, and the team was not able to locate the lander. More images will be taken in October during a flyby in favorable lighting. More: https://t.co/1bMVGRKslp pic.twitter.com/kqTp3GkwuM
— NASA (@NASA) September 26, 2019
The agency disclosed that the lander might be hidden deep inside the shadows since the images were captured at dusk. NASA also added that their Orbiter will capture more images during a flyby on the spot in favorable lighting.
The Orbiter is supposed to fly over the moon surface where the Vikram Lander was scheduled to soft land in good daylight. There are chances that the team could locate the lander next month.
The images released by NASA show the surface of the moon in high resolution. If the Vikram Lander had landed as per the path and trajectory, we could be able to view the lander on the surface of the moon.
As you can observe from the above images, the lunar surface is full of rocks and craters. Hence, the lander could have faced extreme temperatures and crash landed somewhere away from the targeted location. ISRO has appointed a high-level committee consisting of senior officials and they will submit the report with the possible reason for the failure.
The Chandrayyan-2 mission went as planned without any problem. However, the mission control room lost connectivity with then lander when it was just 2 km above the lunar surface. The problem occurred around five minutes before the scheduled descent.
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Sushmita Malakar
September 20, 2019 at 7:37 am
Every effort made in reviving the lander is so overwhelming! Thanks for sharing this update! 🙂