Vikram Lander: Bitter goodbye or see you soon?

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Lunar night has fallen upon the moon and drowned in it any hopes ISRO had of re-establishing contact with the Vikram lander. Temperatures around the south pole of the Moon are expected to fall as low as -180 degree celsius and our Vikram lander was not designed to survive that kind of cold.

The lander was designed to work on the surface of the moon during relative daylight. It was designed for a soft landing but had made a hard landing. To top it all, it had an operational life of 14 earth days, which ended Saturday morning. 

So it is goodbye then

ISRO Chief K Sivan, on Saturday, said, "Regarding the lander, we have not been able to establish communication with it. Our next priority is Gaganyaan mission." Which means it's time we let go of the Vikram lander.

ISRO chief also confirmed that the rest of the Chandrayaan-2 mission is going on as planned.

"Chandrayaan-2 orbiter is doing very well. There are 8 instruments in the orbiter and each instrument is doing exactly what it meant to do," he added.

India's resolve to emerge as a pioneer in space is no secret. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself said after the communication was lost with the Vikram lander on September 7.

"There will be a new dawn, keep trying," Prime Minister Modi had said.

Heartfelt pictures of PM Modi consoling K Sivan after the hard landing were also seen. 

The circumstances point towards a 'see you soon' rather than a 'goodbye'. Sooner rather than later, India will step on Moon, and when she does, Vikram lander will be somewhere waiting hopefully. 

Also Read | Open letter to ISRO: Don’t go gentle into that good night, rage against the dying of the light