- Twitter/@isro
India – India has made history by achieving a successful Moon landing, following the United States (US), Soviet Union, and China. They were also the first to set foot near the Moon's South Pole through the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft.
However, to attain this feat, the nation of Bollywood had to overcome significant challenges. Here are several failures of India's Moon missions:
Loss of Chandrayaan-I
In 2019, India lost the Chandrayaan-I spacecraft. Researchers and technicians at India's space agency lost contact with the country's first lunar mission spacecraft on August 29 at 01:30 AM local time.
The last data transmission from Chandrayaan-I occurred at 12:25 PM to the Indian Space Network in Byalalu, near Bangalore. Project Director Mylswamy Annadurai stated that the Chandrayaan-I mission had concluded.
Chandrayaan-2
PM India Narendra Modi Menyaksikan Peluncuran Roket India ke Bulan
- Express
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) postponed its lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, which was initially scheduled for July 14, 2019, at 05:21 AM local time.
The mission was delayed due to technical issues. Chandrayaan-2 was the successor to the first mission, launched into lunar orbit in 2008.
The mission played a crucial role in discovering the presence of water molecules on the Moon. The project incurred costs of up to $142 million or nearly Rp2 trillion.
Chandrayaan-2 consisted of several components sent to the Moon, including the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover. It took seven weeks to reach the Moon, with the spacecraft taking off on August 20 and the lander separating from the orbiter on September 2.
Vikram
Vikram, the rover intended to explore the Moon's surface and reach the Moon's South Pole, lost contact in 2019. This shattered India's aspiration to become the fourth country to successfully land a rover on the Moon.
According to the latest data, India's spacecraft reached an altitude of just 0.2 miles or 0.33 kilometers above the lunar surface before losing contact with Earth. This means that India's historic journey to the lunar surface was only 0.3 kilometers away from completion.
