Listen People: When objectivity reaches its limit, then sympathy comes to fill the gap. If ‘you are there’ in the control room in Srikarikota, India – even if it’s via live youtube feed - the harder it is to take when science goes off the rails. Such I discovered for myself when the beeping of a moon Lander stopped. That happened in Sept 2019 when communications went mute 2.1km from the lunar surface and Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander crashed on descent. The voices of the control room crew were muted too. They were lost in thought.
The most recent news on the yoyage of Chandrayaan-3, too, was a bummer. Yesterday’s news held that a moon rover deployed on the Southside of the moon by Chandrayaan-3 could not answer the wake up call after one ‘day’ on the planet. A long -- two-weeks by earthmeasure -- night’s hibernation under ultra-frigid conditions in the Sea of Nectars [may have] crashed its electronic components, and the rover failed to acknowledge sends.
This story plays out like a mine disaster. Any word? They are still listening for a stirring of the rover, deployted from the lander Vikram. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) control room personnel are hopeful the rover will wake up on the moon soon.
The sympathetic hand writes “Progress, thy name is ‘fitful’” – as moon efforts could use a boost in momentum. Momentum is a phenomenon, and once it subsides it’s hard to re-kindle. Assorted small projects, Power Points, and plastic models have followed the spectacular space programs of the 1960s. [see earlier story].
[Waking up the Vikram will have special import, as the mission sought to explore the Moon's South Pole. Vikram landed short of the polar region, which the rover, dubbed Pragyan, was to set out for. Chinese lunarists were quick to point this out,]
This let-down should not do away with the fact that Chandrayaan-3 landed smoothly. Unquestionably, the technology know-how of the Indian Nation has proved exceptional. Perhaps we don’t have a giant step for mankind here, but we can ascertain a significant cluster of activity after dormant decades.
The Indian mission was a moment for national pride, especially coming as it did mere days after a Russian expedition failed in the same area of the Moon.
Eyes turn next to efforts centered on Japan's SLIM moon lander, presently undergoing testing in an Earth orbit phase. Listen People. - Jack Vaughan
Related
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-66654775
https://www.space.com/japan-slim-moon-lander-completes-first-phase-earth-orbit
https://moontravellerherald.blogspot.com/2023/09/h-iia-launches-xrism-and-slim-sept-10.html
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