Our next priority is ‘Mission Gaganyaan’: ISRO chief K Sivan

New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: ISRO chief K Sivan on Saturday said that the space agency’s next aim is ‘Mission Gaganyaan’.

Speaking to media on Saturday, Sivan said that the space agency will now focus on Mission Gaganyaan whose aim will be to take Indian astronauts to space.

“Our next priority is Gaganyaan mission,” said the ISRO chief.

Gaganyaan is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft that is intended to send 3 astronauts to space for a minimum of seven days by 2022, as part of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.

Also Read | Chandrayaan 2 | NASA captures pictures of Vikram's landing site: Report

The spacecraft, which is being developed by the ISRO, consists of a service module and a crew module, collectively known as the Orbital Module.

It will be for the first time that India will launch its manned mission to space, making the country fourth in line to have sent a human to space.

Sivan also spoke about Chandrayaan-2 and said that the orbiter is doing ‘very well’.

“Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is doing very well. There are eight instruments in the orbiter and each instrument is doing exactly what it meant to do,” he said.

He further said that the space agency has been unable to establish contact with lander Vikram.

“Regarding the lander, we have not been able to establish communication with it,” he added.

India’s ambitious Moon mission ‘Chandrayaan-2’ has been halted since September 7 because of the unsuccessful landing of its Moon lander ‘Vikram’ on the lunar surface, due to which the communication between the lander and ISRO got disconnected.

Since September 7, ISRO is trying every bit to re-establish the communication with Vikram, but till now no sign of revival can be seen.

Adding to ISRO’s worry the last hope to revive the Vikram Lander will end on Friday if ISRO remains unsuccessful in establishing a contact with ‘Vikram’ as the period of 14 Earth days or sunny days in the south pole region of the Moon--where the Vikram landed--will get over today.

From September 21 the Moon region will enter into a lunar night which will witness extreme cold temperatures of over -240 degree Celsius, making it impossible for the lander and the rover Pragyan to get any sunlight to generate power for its working.

The lander Vikram and rover Pragyan is supposed to be functional only for 14 days from the day of their touchdown. At the start of the mission, ISRO said the mission life of the lander and the rover will be one lunar day which is equal to 14 Earth days, whereas that of the orbiter will be one Earth year.

The duration of one day of Moon is similar to 14 days of Earth. According to the astronomer, the sunlight is towards the end. Later this afternoon, the south pole of the moon will sink completely into darkness.