The Vikram lander, part of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, was intended to land near the south pole of the Moon. However, the mission encountered a failure when mission managers lost contact with the lander during its final descent, just 2.1 kilometers above the lunar surface. The exact cause of the failure is still being analyzed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). NASA later confirmed that the Vikram lander had been found on the lunar surface.
The Chandrayaan-2 mission experienced several delays and challenges leading up to the landing attempt. In 2013, Russia, which was originally supposed to supply the lander and rover, backed out of the joint mission, forcing India to develop these technologies from scratch. Despite the failure of the lander, the mission can still conduct scientific research with its Chandrayaan-2 orbiter, which was successfully deployed.
