Chandrayaan 2 update: Orbiter doing well, no communication with lander Vikram, says Sivan

New Delhi, Sep 26: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan on Thursday said that Chandrayaan 2 orbiter is doing very well but there have been no communication from lander Vikram.

"All payload operations have commenced, it's doing extremely well. We have got no signal from lander but orbiter is working very well. A national-level committee is now analysing what really went wrong with the lander," Sivan told reporters.

"Maybe after the committees submit the report, we'll work on the future plan. Necessary approvals and other processes are required. We are working on that," he added.

"The most important mission for us is 'Gaganyaan', the manned mission to the space. ISRO is working very hard on it," he said.

Gaganyaan, scheduled to be launched in 2022, aims to send three astronauts to space and bring them back safely. "As per the prime minister's announcement, we have to achieve this success by 2022," Sivan said.

Lander Vikram, with rover Pragyan housed inside it, lost communication with ground station on September 7 during its final descent, just 2.1 kms above the lunarsurface, minutes before the planned touch-down on the Moon.

A national-level committee comprising of academics and ISRO experts are analysing the cause of communication loss with Chandrayaan-2 lander ahead of its planned soft landing on the lunar surface.

The Chandrayaan-2 is a Rs 978 crore unmanned moon mission with the satellite alone costing Rs 603 crore while the launch vehicle Rs 375 crore.