Indian Space Research Organisation chief K Sivan said on Saturday that the organisation will make all efforts possible to demonstrate soft landing in space in the future, PTI reported. He said that the failure of the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft to land on the moon was not the end of the road.

“You all have heard about Chandrayaan-2 mission,” Sivan said during his address at the golden jubilee convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. “On the technology part yes, we could not achieve soft landing, but all the systems functioned until 300 metres from moon’s surface. Very valuable data is available to set things right. Let me assure that ISRO will pull all its experience, knowledge and technical prowess to set things right and demonstrate soft landing in near future.”

Sivan said that the space agency’s plans on the Aditya L1 solar mission and the human spaceflight programme are on track. He added that many advance satellite launches are planned in the coming months. “Work is on to provide NAVIC signals on mobile phones, which will open the path to develop large number of applications for societal needs,” Sivan added.

The ISRO chief said that when he graduated from IIT-Bombay three decades ago, the job scenario was not as positive as it is today. “Area of specialisation limited the career options,” he said. “Today, the options are many. There is an added volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity about the global economy. However, you all are much smarter and aware about these scenarios than the older generations.”

At the event, Sivan also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IIT Delhi for setting up a Space Technology Cell at the institute. Such cells have also been set up at Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, and IIT-Bombay.

Last month, the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration said that it found no evidence of Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander in the images taken during the latest fly-by of its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on October 14. The Vikram lander had attempted a soft landing on the moon on September 7, but lost communication with the Indian Space Research Organisation minutes before touchdown.

The American space agency has attempted to locate the Indian lander before. The last attempt was on September 27 when NASA said the Chandrayaan-2 lander had a “hard landing” on the moon’s surface. The agency released images of the targeted landing site.

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