ISRO shares image of moon crater captured by Chandrayaan-2, names it 'Vikram Sarabhai'

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday announced that Chandryaan-2 has captured images of the Moon, and named one of the craters after Vikram Sarabhai. Sarabhai is the father of the Indian space programme.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said that it is a fitting tribute to his legacy, who completed his birth centenary year on August 12. Singh also lauded the the achievements of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which has put India in a leading position for space research.

The Sarabhai Crater is around 250 to 300 kilometres east of the crater where the Apollo 17 and Luna 21 Missions had landed.

It has a depth of around 1.7 kilometres taken from its raised rim and the slope of crater walls is between 25 to 35 degrees, a statement released by ISRO said. The crater has been captured in 3D.

"Chandrayaan-2 continues to perform as per the design and provides valuable scientific data. The public release of scientific data from Chandrayaan-2 for global use will begin in October 2020," the statement added.

Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22 and planned to land on the South Pole of the moon.

The Vikram Lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter on September 2. The Lander Vikram was to soft-land on the far side of the moon at on September 7. Minutes before its scheduled soft-landing, the communication with Vikram Lander was lost. It was 2.1 km above the moon's surface when it lost contact with the ground stations.