India finds location of lost craft on moon

ANKARA

India has found the spacecraft, which was lost on the lunar surface before it was scheduled to make a soft landing on the moon, according to local media.

India's ANI news agency quoted Kailasavadivoo Sivan, the chief of the country’s space organization, as saying that the location of Lander Vikram on lunar surface was found and orbiter has clicked a thermal image of lander.

However Sivan said no signal has yet been received from the lander.

“We are trying to establish a contact. It will be communicated soon,” he added.

India’s Chandrayaan-2 was launched July 22 to reach near the moon’s south pole. It is a three-module spacecraft comprising an orbiter, lander and Rover.

On Sept. 2, the Vikram Lander had successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter and the communication was lost five days later.

It was the first Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface.

The mission would have made India the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to carry out a soft landing on moon.

India plans to send its manned spacecraft to space by 2022.