Chennai Skywatcher First To Spot Debris From Chandrayaan-2 Lander, Says NASA

In the first authentic information from any source on the fate of Indian lunar lander Vikram, NASA late on Monday released the latest images of the lunar surface that point to the fact that the lander broke into many pieces after crash-landing on September 7.

Images taken on November 11 by NASA’s moon orbiter show that Vikram’s debris was strewn across at least 750 m of the crash site, which itself is now believed to be away from the planned landing target, the U.S. space agency said.

NASA credited Chennai-based freelance space observer and professional programmer Shanmuga Subramanian with discovering the first spot of debris from the Chandrayaan-2 mission’s lander and alerting it on October 3.

The modest apartment of Shanmuga Subramanian, a 33-year-old techie from Chennai, is chock-a-block with journalists, jostling since Tuesday morning to speak to him after his crucial ‘clue’ helped NASA zero-in on debris of Chandrayaan-2’s lander, Vikram, on the moon.

Asked how he located the debris, which has in part solved the mystery of what happened to the lander, Mr. Subramanian is modest, saying it was not rocket science.