Chandrayan in trouble after losing vital sensor

New Delhi, July 17 (ANI): India's first moon mission Chandrayan-I, has lost a major sensor and may meet a premature end, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) sources said on Friday.

ISRO launched its formidable mission of Chandrayan in October 2008 from the Satish Dhavan Space Center in Shriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Chandrayan was predicted to have a two-year life span.

According to ISRO Chief G. Madhavan Nair, the mission lost a vital sensor last month. The sensor was a helping the mission to know its direction. The ISRO scientists are worried about this loss, Nair added.

He also said that the ISRO scientists worked very innovatively to overcome this loss, but if some more loss happens in the future the mission might be aborted temporarily.

Nair, however said that ISRO has collected almost all details that it wanted over the last eight months, and the objective of the mission is almost met.

The mission has devised innovative technology and is using an antenna pointing mechanism and gyroscopes to overcome the problem, sources said.

According to ISRO spokesperson S Satish, the space organization is not sure about the mission's longevity after this loss.

Satish, however, expressed confidence that the mission is not crippled. (ANI)