New Delhi: Chandrayaan-2, India’s second lunar mission completed one year in orbit around the moon on August 20 and there is adequate onboard fuel to keep it operational for about seven more years, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), adding that all its instruments are currently performing well. Also Read – Unmanned Space Mission, Under Phase 1 of ‘Gaganyaan’, Likely to be Delayed Due to COVID-19: Reports

“Though the soft-landing attempt (of the lander carrying the rover) was not successful, the orbiter, which was equipped with eight scientific instruments, was successfully placed in the lunar orbit. The orbiter completed more than 4,400 orbits around the Moon and all the instruments are currently performing well,” the space agency said in a statement. Also Read – Chandrayaan-2’s Rover Intact? Chennai Space Enthusiast Claims so, ISRO Analysing The Same

It asserted that the orbiter is being maintained in 100 +/- 25 km polar orbit with periodic orbit maintenance (OM) maneuvers. “So far, 17 OMs are carried out since achieving 100 km lunar orbit on 24th September 2019. There is adequate onboard fuel to remain operational for about seven years”, it stated. Also Read – 1st Anniversary of Chandrayaan-2 Launch: All 8 Payloads Performing Well, Says ISRO

After the launch of  Chandrayaan in 2008, ISRO, on July 22, 2019 launched India’s second mission to moon, Chandrayaan 2 comprising orbiter, lander (Vikram) and rover. Vikram carried three payloads–Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive Ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA), Chandra’s Surface Thermo-physical Experiment (ChaSTE) and Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA). The mission was aimed at the Vikram module making a soft landing on the Moon’s uncharted south pole.

However, Vikram Lander lost its communication with the ISRO moments before its scheduled soft-landing. Had the lander operation been successful, India would have been the only country to land on the Moon’s unexplored south pole.

On December 2, 2019, US space agency NASA found the crash site and debris of  Vikram moon lander. NASA had also tweeted the images clicked by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) that show the site of impact and the associated debris field.

(With agency inputs)