'A complex mission, achieved 90-95 per cent of objectives,' says ISRO on Chandrayaan 2

New Delhi: In its first statement after Mission Chandrayaan 2 suffered a huge setback on Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) described the mission as a highly-complex mission that represented a “significant technological leap”.

The space agency also underscored that 90-95 per cent of the mission objectives had been achieved and would contribute to lunar science despite the loss of communication with the Vikram lander, Hindustan Times reported.

“This was a unique mission which aimed at studying not just one area of the Moon but all the areas combining the exosphere, the surface as well as the sub-surface of the moon in a single mission,” the statement said.

The Vikram Lander followed the planned descent trajectory from its orbit of 35 km to just below 2 km above the surface. The statement did not state the happenings beyond that point.

But till then, the statement said, all the systems and sensors of the Lander “functioned excellently” and proved many new technologies such as what it called “the variable thrust propulsion technology”.

“The Orbiter has already been placed in its intended orbit around the Moon and shall enrich our understanding of the moon’s evolution and mapping of the minerals and water molecules in the Polar Regions, using its eight state-of-the-art scientific instruments,” the statement said.

The Orbiter camera is the highest resolution camera (0.3m) in any lunar mission so far and shall provide high resolution images which will be immensely useful to the global scientific community.

ISRO said the precise launch and mission management had ensured it would have a long life of almost 7 years instead of the planned one year.