After yesterday’s scientific poll, the result is in: Chandrayaan-1’s loss has not dented the reputation of ISRO. This is rocket science after all, as has been pointed out by commenters.

Despite the miscalculation of how hot it is on the moon, then, the mission is being seen as a positive experience for India by some. Unfortunately, more bad-sounding news has reached us today via Aviation Week, which has looked at a joint project with Chandrayaan-1 and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). This tandem experiment would help look for ice at the Moon’s poles. The first attempt in August wasn’t successful, according to Stewart Nozette, principal investigator on the LRO’s Mini-RF, who tells AW that this was because of a pointing problem.

The second attempt for the chance to make use of the two craft at once was about to start when Chandrayaan-1 went silent, scuppering any chance to use the two missions in tandem.

Nozette is not bitter, “ISRO should be congratulated," he told AW. “They did a good job, but the moon is somewhat of a harsh environment.”

Image: NASA