The outpouring of sympathy and admiration for the scientists and engineers of ISRO in the wake of the unsuccessful soft-landing of the lunar lander, Vikram, of Chandrayaan-2 will strengthen their resolve to go ahead. The scientists will be inspired by the orbiter now going around the moon, which is a remarkable achievement, following the precise alterations in the orbit of Chandryaan-2 since its launch.

    Also, the powered descent of the lander was initiated well in time and it worked until it was 2.1 km above the lunar surface, when the communication link with Ground Control was lost. The telemetry data are being analysed. It may help in finding out if all the engines worked well in the descent phase and took corrective measures. Though the moon has no atmospheric drag, the six Apollo missions have reportedly given out six times as much gas to the surface of the moon as in its ambient atmosphere! The moon’s gravity field needs a....