NASA is helping ISRO in establishing communication with Vikram Lander
CHANDRAYAAN 2: National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) is sending radio signals to Vikram Lander and has also assured that apart from the radio signals, they will also be sharing the images from its own Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to ISRO.
NASA’s Deep Space Network is beaming the radio signals to Vikram Lander. The move will help the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to establish communication with Chandrayaan 2’s moon lander Vikram.
According to astronomer Scott Tilley, who found American weather satellite IMAGE in 2018 that was believed to be lost, said that his station will continue to monitor for signals from Vikram Lander as long as NASA’s Deep Space Network continues to search for it.
As #NASA #DSN operator @nascom1 mentioned yesterday on Twitter, the effort being made to communicate is standard procedure after an anomalous mission event like this. While there is always hope and that drives the search the prognosis of hearing from #VikramLander is not good.
— Scott Tilley (@coastal8049) 13 September 2019
The US space agency’s DSN operator Richard Stephenson also confirmed on Twitter that the network is helping secure a communication link with the lander.
To demonstrate just how important the @NASA Deep Space Network is to other agencies requiring a communications link to their spacecraft outside of Earth’s atmosphere . We are currently supporting 2 x @isro and 2 x @esa missions. pic.twitter.com/Fr9RcAxIEx
— Richard Stephenson (@nascom1) 11 September 2019
Assistant professor of physics at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Dr. Nirupam Roy said,
ISRO has already located the lander using the images taken by the orbiter, but in order to establish communication, the lander has to be in a working condition and has to be functioning properly in two ways. Firstly, the solar panel for power and secondly, the antennae for communication. As informed and from what I know, the battery backup of the Vikram lander can at best last only for 14 Earth days. If that is the case then all hope of establishing communication will end as the lunar night begins over the south polar region.
