Star Sensors in Chandrayaan Fail,Mission May End Prematurely

Bangalore, July 17 (PTI) : India's ambitious Chandrayaan-I Moon mission might come to a premature end as star sensors on board the spacecraft have failed.

"Star sensors are malfunctioning," S Satish, spokesperson of the Bangalore-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told PTI.

Star sensors played the crucial role of orientation towards the Moon.

ISRO said it has devised innovative technology and is using antenna pointing mechanism and gyroscopes to overcome the problem.

But the space agency is not confident on how long they can hold to this mode.

"We are not sure how long we will be able to sustain it

The life of Chandrayaan-I designed for two years may be reduced," Satish said.

He, however, maintained that the mission is not crippled adding, "it is continuing satisfactorily.".

Chandrayaan-I was launched from the spaceport of Sriharikota in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh on October 22 last year.