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Screenshot from the live ISRO showing the Vikram probe just as it approaches the moon. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) / AFP

The Vikram lander was to land on the surface of the moon in the night from Friday to Saturday.

Launched on July 22 with a firing point from southern India, the landing gear of the Chandrayaan-2 mission was to land between midnight and 1 am (UT) near the South Lunar Pole. But Vikram does not answer anymore. Around 2:00 am (UT), the Indian Space Agency (ISRO) announced that it had lost contact with the probe.

" The descent of the Vikram Lander was proceeding as planned, " said ISRO President K. Sivan in the Bangalore Control Room. " Then the communication between the undercarriage and the ground control was lost. The data is being analyzed, "he added.

Only the Soviet Union, the United States and China have achieved the feat of laying a device on the moon. And India hoped to be " the first to land on the South Lunar Pole, a totally unexplored area ," said ISRO.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from Bangalore, delivered a message of comfort to scientists, assuring them that " what (they) had done was not a small feat ".

" Life has ups and downs. Your hard work has already taught us a lot and the whole country is proud of you , he added. If communication is restored (...) all hopes are allowed (...) Our journey will continue. Be strong. I am with you, "assured the Prime Minister.

(With agencies)