'You have inspired us, will explore solar system together': NASA to ISRO
Chandrayaan-2 mission
There have been a total of 109 lunar missions from 1958, out of which 61 were successful, says the US space agency’s ‘Moon Fact Sheet’.
The NASA has lauded Chandrayaan-2, saying
India’s Moon mission has “inspired” the US space agency which is keen
to jointly explore the solar system with ISRO, a day after the lunar
expedition suffered a snag while attempting a historic landing on the
uncharted South Pole of the Moon.
The Indian Space Research Organistion’s (ISRO)
plan to soft-land the Chandrayaan-2’s ‘Vikram’ module on the lunar
surface did not go as per script in the early hours of Saturday, with
the lander losing communication with ground stations during its final
2.1-km descent.
“Space is hard. We commend ISRO’s attempt to land
their Chandrayaan2 mission on the Moon’s South Pole,” the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said in a tweet.
“You have inspired us with your journey and look forward to future opportunities to explore our solar system together,” it said.
A senior Trump administration official also praised India’s Chandrayan-2, describing ISRO’s efforts as “incredible”.
“We congratulate ISRO on their incredible
efforts on Chandrayaan2. The mission is a huge step forward for India
and will continue to produce valuable data to fuel scientific
advancements. We have no doubt that India will achieve its space
aspirations,” Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia
Alice G Wells tweeted.
Former NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger told PTI
on Saturday that the lessons learnt from India’s “bold attempt” to soft
land Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram module on the lunar surface will help the
country during its follow-up missions.
“We should not be too discouraged. India was
trying to do something very, very difficult. In fact, everything was
going as planned as the lander came down,” Linenger said.
India’s historic mission to soft-land a rover
on the Moon’s uncharted South Pole may have gone awry, but the landmark
attempt highlighted its engineering prowess and growing ambitions to
become a space superpower, the global media commented on Saturday.
The New York Times lauded India’s “engineering prowess and decades of space development”.
“While India may not have stuck the landing on
its first try, its attempt highlighted how its engineering prowess and
decades of space development have combined with its global ambitions,”
the report said.
“The partial failure of the Chandrayaan-2
mission would delay the country’s bid to join an elite club of nations
that have landed in one piece on the moon’s surface,” it said.
The Washington Post in its headline “India’s
first attempt to land on the moon appears to have failed” said the
mission had been a source of “immense national pride”.
“Social media erupted in support of the space
agency and its scientists despite the setback... The incident could now
set back India’s growing space ambitions, seen as a reflection of the
aspirations of its young population,” it said.
“One of the successes of India’s space
programme has been its cost-effectiveness. Chandrayaan-2 cost USD 141
million, a small fraction of what the United States spent on its
historic Apollo Moon mission,” the report said.
The ISRO on Saturday tweeted that Chandrayaan-2
mission was a “highly complex mission, which represented a significant
technological leap compared to the previous missions of the ISRO to
explore the unexplored south pole of the Moon”.
The Chandrayaan-2 mission was launched on July 22 by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III).
The spacecraft began its journey towards the
Moon, leaving the earth’s orbit on August 14 after a crucial manoeuvre
called Trans Lunar Insertion or TLI that was carried out by ISRO to
place the spacecraft on “lunar transfer trajectory”.
According to NASA, only half of the lunar missions involving landing on moon surface have succeeded in the last six decades.
There have been a total of 109 lunar missions
from 1958, out of which 61 were successful, says the US space agency’s
‘Moon Fact Sheet’.
The first lunar soft landing and first pictures from the lunar surface came from Luna 9, launched by the USSR in January 1966.
The Apollo 11 mission was the landmark mission
through which humans first stepped on the lunar surface. The three-crew
mission was headed by Neil Armstrong.
From 2009-2019, ten missions have been launched
of which five have been sent by China, three by the US, and one each
by India and Israel. PTI
No comments:
Post a Comment