New Delhi: India's moon mission, Chandrayaan, is in serious trouble. A key component, which helps guide it, has malfunctioned.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has responded with makeshift solution to salvage it to some extent, but the emergency response has meant that some experiments are suffering, and as this exclusive report by NDTV science editor Pallava Bagla shows, its two-year life could be cut short.
However, for seven months after the launch, Chandrayaan worked excellently.
"Recently we had an event by which the Star Sensor was lost. Of course in normal course, the entire mission would have gone into a catastrophe," said ISRO chairman Dr G Madhavan Nair.
But as a critical part has malfunctioned, Chandrayaan could not be steered accurately. It has difficulty in focusing on specific parts of the moon. And there was a real danger that it could crash into the moon.
ISRO said Chandrayaan was moved up 'after a successful completion of all the major mission objectives'. But those objectives were compromised.
The higher orbit also means that India's instrument to measure lunar heights won't function efficiently. There's a real fear that it may not be able to complete its full life of two years. So experiments planned over that time span may be cut short, resulting in gaps of data.
So has the Rs 400-crore mission failed? Not at all, because it not only put an Indian flag on the moon, but by getting there, also demonstrated India's abilities to the world. And both Indian and foreign scientists are happy with data sent by Chandrayaan, and that continues.
Some good old Indian management has come to Chandrayaan's rescue. By patching together a couple of other sensors, ISRO has found it has some control in steering the satellite. But how long will the makeshift arrangement last? And will it affect India's dreams of being a space power.