Indias moon mission "Chandrayan-I," which was launched in October for a life of two years, came to an abrupt end on Saturday after Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) lost communication with the spacecraft carrying it, said media reports.
"Chandrayan-I" lasted barely ten months. The 1380-kg Chandrayaan-1 carried 11 instruments on board, including six from overseas.
Chandrayaan-1s Project Director M. Annadurai said: "The mission that was to last two years is definitely over. We have lost contact with the spacecraft." ISRO Chairman Madhavan Nair also said that scientists were analysing what has gone wrong and whether there was any possibility of recovery, and added that 95 per cent of the scientific objectives of the mission had been completed.
Asked if the mission is over, he said, "we will have to face the reality but we will have a better opportunity tomorrow." The two-year mission, launched on October 22 last year with much fanfare, was abandoned early today after radio contact with the moon craft was abruptly lost at 0130 hours, said a Press Trust of India (PTI) report.