[Sn1F3rt]

Congratz to ISRO for even making it that far, It'd be more interesting If NASA was able to get some clear shots to see exactly what happened instead of making estimates, I hope ISRO's successful next time!

Actually NASA's orbiter was meant to do that, as it was capable of that. Today we'd have probably known the exact reason of Vikram's malfunctioning if only ISRO would've confirmed a couple of days before that it was difficult to establish connection with Vikram instead of keeping NASA on hold till 17th. I feel that was what sealed our fate.

When NASA's orbiter actually clicked the photographs of Vikram's estimated location, sunlight was fading in the South Pole of the Moon which made the photos blur. Also, since that's the lower pole the bigger craters of the Moon casted their shadows at Vikram's spot, which hid him. In fact ISRO confirmed that he was actually hid in one of those shadows as in two or more photos, a shiny object was seen at the same spot. However that wasn't enough to understand what the NASA's orbiter was expected to achieve.

Nevermind, it was a great learning and enriching experience for all of us. It acted as the impetus for ISRO as today NASA's Chief, Dr. K Sivan confirmed that 98% of the mission was successful as due to fuel savings, the Chandrayaan-2's orbiter's life was increased from 1 to 7.5 years. Indeed a great achievement, which will serve as a good knowledge source during the upcoming 2021 Gaganyaan mission of the ISRO.

Cheers to ISRO!