India's ambitious lunar mission, the Chandrayaan-1, launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has officially been declared 'non-operative', as it has ceased to maintain radio contact with ISRO's establishments. In the meantime, the space body has declined the possibility of retrieving the mission, thereby shedding all hopes of recovery.

ISRO Chief Madhavan Nair, speaking on the sidelines of the eighth international conference on 'Low Cost Planetary Missions,' said: "We have learnt some valuable lessons, and we have to look for devices that are less susceptible to radiation in future expeditions. We have set up an assessment committee to study all aspects. The Chandrayaan-II will not be delayed."

Chandrayaan-1 suffered problems due to very high radiation in the atmosphere, disruption in power supply and loss in communication connectivity. Its devices failed to sustain high radiations and instant temperature fluctuations, leading to the collapse in power supply. Mr. Nair added that the radiation problems were beyond imagination, and could not be anticipated during the designing process.

The ISRO Chief, expressing satisfaction over the results obtained from Rs 400 crore Chandrayaan, said: "We could collect a large volume of data, including more than
70,000 images of the moon. In that sense, 95 per cent of the objective was completed."