BANGALORE:  India's Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as Mangalyaan, which was launched on November 5, 2013, and was intended to continue for six months, has lost contact with the ground stations, ending its existence after eight long years.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is determining the specifics of what happened, including if the spacecraft ran out of fuel and battery power or whether the communication was lost as a result of an autonomous manoeuvre that changed the antenna's direction as it moved out of a prolonged eclipse.

However, it was confirmed by numerous sources that the spacecraft could not be recovered. According to a scientist, ISRO will shortly make an official announcement. The same information was relayed on September 27 by the director of the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC).

The officials said, the eclipse in April 2022 lasted for a very long time. The satellite was built with the ability to operate independently, and it has successfully emerged from eclipses in the past. The fuel may have run out while recovering from the eclipse. The other explanation is that the Earth-facing antenna may have changed orientation as a result of a roll-spin order that was issued as the eclipse was ending.

The spacecraft had dealt with two black-out periods during an eclipse, one white-out phase in the first year circling Mars and another in the second year. In each of these cases, the spacecraft operated entirely on its own, with no assistance from the earth.

India joined a select group of countries that have completed a Mars mission thanks to the Rs 450 crore mission, which was launched on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). It was a plus that the nation succeeded in its first attempt.

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