Will attempt another soft landing mission on Moon, says ISRO Chief

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan Saturday said that the organisation is planning mission to attempt another soft landing on the moon in near future.

During his address at the golden jubilee convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Sivan quoted, "Let me assure that ISRO will pull all its experience, knowledge and technical prowess to set things right and demonstrate soft landing in near the future".

"On the technology part yes, we could not achieve a soft landing, but all the systems functioned until 300 metres from the moon's surface. Very valuable data is available to set things right," he said and added that many advance satellite launches are being planned in the coming months.

Also Read: Chandrayaan 2: ISRO locates Vikram lander's location; trying to establish contact

Sivan also said that ISRO's other space missions, including sending a probe to the Sun and humans to space, are on track. "Chandrayaan-2 is not the end of the story. Our plans on Aditya L1 solar mission, human spaceflight programme are on track," Sivan stated at the event.

Sivan also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IIT Delhi during the event on Saturday, that aims to set up a Space Technology Cell at the institute.

Earlier on September 7, Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander had attempted a soft landing on the moon but lost communication with ISRO moments before it was to touchdown on the lunar surface.

Also Read: Chandrayaan 2: ISRO chief K Sivan says orbiter doing well, no communication with lander Vikram

Vikram has not been heard from since and the suspicion is that the Chandrayaan-2 lander crashed on the surface of the Moon. Meanwhile, the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which was also a part of the mission, continues to be operational.

Last month, the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) attempted to locate the Indian lander but found no evidence of the lander in the images taken during the latest fly-by of its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on October 14.

Also Read: ISRO Chairman K Sivan speaks about the work behind Chandrayaan 2