Bangalore, we have a problem

The world’s second-largest nation held its breath. Scores of engineers at mission control in Bangalore had done all they could to get their country’s second Moon mission into place above the lunar surface. The final part, the descent of the landing module onto the Moon itself, was self-guided—the craft had to find its own path down. “Fifteen terrifying minutes” was how Kailasavavidoo Sivan, boss of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), had described this phase of the landing sequence. His fears were well-founded. About 30 minutes before the expected landing time at 1.54am Indian time on September 7th, ISRO lost communication with the module.India had been aiming to become only the fourth member of the lunar club, after the Soviet Union, America and China. This mission, Chandrayaan-2 (Sanskrit for “Moon craft”), departed Earth on July 22nd from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in southern India, after several delays. The initial cost of $59m had climbed to $136m, in part because Russia, which had originally agreed to build the lander, pulled out. India decided to go it alone. Chandrayaan-2 is comprised of an orbiter, a lander and a rover, the latter two of which split off from the orbiter on Monday and made for the lunar surface.