BENGALURU: International space experts and media around the world on Saturday called the communication loss with Vikram lander a "partial loss" and said "all is not lost" as the orbiter with key scientific instruments on board is still circling Moon's orbit.
Former US astronaut and space analyst Jerry M Linenger said, “India was trying to do something very, very difficult. Everything was going as planned as the lander came down. Unfortunately, it never quite made it to the hover point. That would be at an altitude of about 400 metre if it had made it to that point, and even if it had not succeeded beyond that, it would have been helpful because the radar altimeters and lasers could have been tested. This would obviously be very helpful for follow-on missions. Overall, the mission has been very successful."
He said, "The orbiter will continue to downlink very valuable information for the next year. And by all indications, all systems are go on the orbiter. I look forward to watching complete success in the future based upon lessons learned from this bold attempt.”
Writer and managing editor of Nasa Spaceflight Chris G said, "The orbiter is where 95 per cent of the experiments are. The orbiter is safely in lunar orbit and performing its mission. This is not a total failure. Not at all," Chris G tweeted.
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