Original subtitles

7th September 2019.

This day will go down in history as a red-letter day,

when Vikram will fulfil its mission today.

A mission that crowns India as the pioneer

to touch the lunar south pole.

Lunar south pole,

a vital lunar landscape,

coveted by nations across the globe.

Six months ago,

Israel was almost there.

Russia, China, the US, all are in the race.

But leaving them behind...

Tonight, India will lead the way,

and its dawn will rise on the Moon.

I bring you this important news

right from the lunar surface.

Now, let's leave the Moon and head towards ISRO.

Our correspondent, Jitendra Kumar,

- is with us right now. - Don't land on my surface!

Be it restless kids or our respected Prime Minister,

everyone is waiting with curious eyes for this moment.

Our ISRO chief

and our scientific advisor, Mr. Mohanty,

are having a serious discussion.

You see this, Sankaran?

A new phone.

Who do you think I'll call first?

The representatives of the UN Security Council.

Yes, sir.

We've been waiting for this moment for the last 20 years.

- Is everything set? - Yes.

Please check with the project director.

Okay, sir.

This part

will orbit around the Moon,

- and what do they call it? - An orbiter.

Correct!

What comes out of the orbiter and lands on the Moon...

- The lander! - Yes.

What comes out of the Vikram lander

to carve India's emblem on the Moon...

Pragyan Rover.

The rover can only rove

if Arjun's landing program lands Vikram on the Moon.

You're the project director, Yamini.

- You should be checking where he is. - Sir, you know

the concerns before the landing sequence.

- But anything major? - Uh...

Does Arjun need some help?

The Vikram lander is under attack.

The firewall will crumble in three minutes.

How do we control these hackers, Arjun?

Let me think.

- Yes, ma'am. - Rough braking is

only minutes away, Jairam.

I hope everything is under control.

Uh...

Yes, everything is under control.

We're on the way.

Everything is under control, ma'am.

Nothing is under control, sir.

What the hell! How did these foreign hackers

get so close to controlling Vikram?

Our security was military-grade, wasn't it?

That's a great idea.

Sorry. What did I say?

Can I get access to a non-critical satellite

that's not high-security?

These are the sounding satellites of Rohini.

The backup ones.

We launch four every year

for weather monitoring.

Now tracking the Vikram lander.

How is this possible?

Why is he switching Vikram's security protocol?

Relax, bro. Arjun's idea is more secure than the military's.

Now tracking Rohini RS V7.

The more security you have, the more attacks you face.

If we swap the security protocols of both satellites,

the hackers will target the satellite

with the stronger security

and Vikram will be safe.

- All clear. - Yes!

Thank God!

Send an email to the security task force

and check in case there's a loss, okay?

- Sir. - Yes?

Let's go, sir.

The entire world awaits Vikram's landing

and you are busy sending emails. Let's go.

Jairam, we can't afford to make mistakes.

From cyclones to warships,

from morning weather reports to evening food deliveries,

everything is controlled through space.

Space is the new Kargil.

Mission director, roger?

Based on the readiness of the vehicle systems...

As you can see, the place is buzzing with energy.

All of us are excited.

The Vikram lander

is orbiting the Moon at a steady altitude.

The lander will descend towards the Moon in three stages.

The next stage

is the rough braking phase.

Arjun, you'll have to promise me something today.

No, first you make a promise to me.

Promise me you'll be back soon.

I promise. I'll come back home soon.

Now tell me, what promise do you want from me?

Lander ready to start descent.

IDSN ready to track.

All parameters normal.

Ground stations locked. Doppler tracking is good.

Guidance software primed. Descent algorithm loaded.

Ready to track Vikram.

Over to you, Arjun.

Copy that, ma'am.

35 kilometres from the lunar surface.

C2 Orbiter aligned for relay. Horizontal velocity?

2.4 kilometres per second.

Vertical velocity?

Fifty-five meters per second.

Attitude stable.

Guidance tracking nominal.

Lander initiating rough braking.

Five.

Four.

Three, two...

One.

The orbiting phase is over.

It's time for a rough braking

where the Vikram lander will press brake on its orbiting speed

and slowly descend towards the Moon.

Roger. Descent guidance active.

Descent started.

The speed is reducing.

Currently at two kilometres per second.

Lander in control, ma'am.

The rousing applause makes it clear

that the Vikram lander has completed the rough braking phase.

We are moving to the next stage of the landing.

Sir.

The Prime Minister's press briefing.

This one, if we succeed. This one if we fail.

- We don't need this. - Six kilometres to go.

A major deceleration is required for Vikram.

Keep the success one.

The next stage is the attitude hold phase.

We have 11 minutes.

Copy, Mission director.

All stations, prepare for attitude hold.

All stations report ready. Commencing attitude hold phase.

Guidance nominal. Attitude algorithms engaged.

Telemetry stable, parameters nominal.

Tracking log confirmed. Continuous monitoring active.

Power levels stable, batteries nominal.

There was a slight deviation,

but Vikram immediately corrected its course.

Tense moments now,

with history in the making.

ISRO'S HISTORIC FEAT INDIA ABOUT TO LAND ON THE MOON

Landing coordinate locked.

Fuel gauge fine.

Initiating fine braking.

Copy that.

All stations stand by for fine braking.

Thrusters ready. Fine braking mode active.

Telemetry steady. All sensors normal.

Tracking confirmed. Radar lock active.

Trajectory stable. Fine braking parameters engaged.

Thrusters firing. Fine braking thrust nominal.

Vertical deceleration holding at expected profile.

Copy. Systems green.

3 kilometres.

2.9...

2.786.

We'll be on the Moon in 12 seconds or so.

2.634.

2.497.

2.294...

Please check... Uh...

If the orbiter is getting a signal from Vikram.

Trying orbiter communication.

A few tense moments

as we await the updates.

Only 12 seconds to go

before we land on the Moon--

You've been parroting that line for the last 12 minutes.

We're live.

Negative.

No signal from Vikram.

Please look again.

We cannot lose Vikram.

We have to find it.

Keep trying. Vikram has to be alive.

We can't lose Vikram like that.

He was alive.

Had the US given us access to the GPS,

we wouldn't have lost so many soldiers in Kargil.

We failed Major Vikram.

We've fallen behind in this technology.

All stations, reattempt programs activated.

Begin protocol sequence.

The effort to reach Vikram is still underway.

But this ominous silence

needs no explanation.

Tracking mode re-acquire active.

Antennas repositioned.

No lock yet. Continuing scan.

They lost communication.

We're trying to find out what went wrong.

Holding the last-known trajectory.

- Nishant. - Yes?

What's this?

The speech for successful landing.

Give it to me.

Thrusters on standby

for contingency manoeuvrers.

Where's the failure speech?

You tore that already, sir.

Gather the pieces.

- Idiot! - All calculations,

ready for reattempt.

- Okay. - Standing by for updated telemetry.

What do we do now?

We can't say we don't know anything.

We can update the status.

For now.

Hmm.

Let's do that.

The Vikram lander's descent

was on the expected lines.

All parameters were normal till the altitude of 2.1 km.

But after that, the ground station

lost contact with the Vikram lander.

The data is being analysed.

The events of this evening

near the lunar south pole

mark a serious blow to India's ambitious mission.

A sense of gloom filled the mission control room

as Vikram stopped transmitting updates.

The mission controllers' faces

showed unmistakable signs of despair.

The PM hugged and consoled the ISRO Chief,

but I'm still ready to call you out.

Yamini-ji.

You were the project director, right?

What went wrong today?

Can you explain?

Sir... Ahem...

There are three possibilities.

The first...

soft landing.

In this case, there seems to be a communication error.

Second...

Hard land.

In this case, the computer must've been damaged.

And the third?

The third...

The third case?

The third case...

Crash landing.

Vikram is dead.

No.

No.

This is not acceptable, Dr. Ramaiah.

I want Vikram alive.

Do you get me?

You should understand this, Mohanty sir.

Back in Thumba,

I advised to delay this launch.

This isn't about the launch, Dr. Ramaiah!

This is about landing.

Possibly a failed landing.

As a launch director, please stay out of this.

A landing programmer can have a say, right?

The landing didn't fail. Someone tried to sabotage it.

- Foreign countries-- - This guy is speaking nonsense!

Had that been the case,

the international communities would've condemned it.

Sir, a cyberattack from North Korea--

Arjun, stop!

- I witnessed this first-hand-- - Arjun...

- Ma'am... - Arjun.

Enough.

The more important question

isn't what happened to Vikram, but where Vikram is.

And I hope

you won't forget the mission while you play the blame game.

We know our mission, Mohanty sir.

To land on the south pole of the Moon.

No!

The mission was landing a seat at the space table.

It was as important as a seat in the Security Council.

It still is.

It is still important for our country.

So?

What do you think?

How long will you take to find Vikram?

Sir, right now, we don't...

What did you just say?

Speak up!

Vikram and Pragyan aren't designed

to withstand low temperatures.

The Moon rotates on its axis once every 29 days.

That's why there is light there for only 14 days.

We have

13 days.

Once the lunar night begins,

the temperature of the Moon will plunge to minus 200.

And we'll be a laughingstock all over the world!

You can seek help from Europe or the US.

But you must find Vikram. Alive.

Sir, this...

I've put your speech back together.

- The failure one-- - Enough!

I don't need a failure or a success speech.

- Write a new speech. - Okay.

Where I can say that my genius team

has no idea about our own mission.

Very nice! Good job!

You're wrecking this bat the same way

you wasted the taxpayer's money.

- Who are you? Step forward and talk. - Here I am.

Our poor populace

don't have money for their healthcare.

And here you are, our illustrious scientists,

who have squandered the taxpayers' money

and are here playing cricket.

He's recording.

There's no point talking to him. Let's go.

I had a question for him.

- Don't try-- - Sir, sir...

The ISRO scientists are playing cricket.

Moon or Earth, they're useless on both.

Go home!

You have wasted our money.

- Now, go home and sleep... - Sir, sir!

- Don't you want to go home? - Sir...

- Do you want to go home? - Sir...

How are you heading home?

I...

- Tell me. - I'll hail a rickshaw.

The rickshaw's location will come from the satellites we make.

These satellites guide fishermen

on their boats and save crops

for the farmers.

People like us make the gadgets that make your life better.

The taxpayers' money is getting invested, not wasted.

Type in the location on your phone and...

- Get lost. - I'll cover you too.

Fool!

On the one hand, we have these reporters

and Mohanty on the other.

Mohanty is wrong about most things,

but he is right about one thing.

Right now, the key question isn't what happened to Vikram,

but where it is.

Let's find out.

The ISRO is trying to contact the Vikram lander,

but is there a possibility to re-establish contact?

I don't think

the ISRO scientists can do this.

The optical images from the orbiter tell us nothing.

We've been looking through it all night.

- Try for thermal images... - Bye, Mom.

...Arjun.

Meanwhile, I'll speak to the American Space Agency.

I'd like to invite India to return

the 2.3 billion pounds of foreign aid money that we sent them.

We should not be giving money to countries with a space program.

I've checked the thermal images, ma'am.

All the teams are working on it.

We can't find Vikram.

We can't give up, Arjun. We need to find it.

India has been disgraced

in the international community.

Who will answer for that?

Where is Dr. Mohanty?

Where is Dr. Sankaran Nair?

Who will answer?

Where are you guys hiding? Answer me.

Received requests to help with pictures

of India's lander on the Moon.

Don't think they even reached, man!

We'll find out soon enough.

Our cameras will put the data on the public portal.

Arjun, what are you waiting for?

Shoot the marble.

Arjun.

Your dad is leaving.

Come inside now.

The Indian Army has launched

- a frontal attack on Tiger Hill. - Yes, yes!

Pakistan has also begun its counter-bombardment.

Dad.

I found the Moon.

Very good.

It's beautiful.

Go and get the model.

The counterattack is likely to be heavy.

Here's the Moon.

Whoa!

Now my science project will be the best in the class.

Creating the best science project isn't enough.

Arjun, you'll have to promise me something today.

What promise do you want from me?

Arjun.

What would your grandpa do?

He was a farmer...

You want me to be a farmer, Dad?

- But like you, I also-- - Relax.

You won't follow your dad or your grandpa.

You'll serve our nation in a very different way.

And what is that?

SALUTE TO OUR SOLDIERS, FARMERS, SCIENTISTS

You'll choose science.

Science.

Arjun.

India needs the best of technology.

For that,

you must become the best of scientists.

I promise I'll become a scientist.

But you must come back soon.

I promise I'll be back soon.

Then we'll clear all the Contra levels.

- Okay. - Deal?

Deal.

Good morning, Yamini ma'am.

Vikram was covered with shiny, golden foil

to save it from freezing temperatures

and that foil will help us locate it.

Hurry over.

Instead of a heat scan,

we use a light scan to locate the shiny, golden foil.

Brilliant idea, Arjun.

It's intact, sir. We've found Vikram!

Well done!

A night to go before the lunar day ends.

I think we can lower the orbiter

and maybe we can try and talk to Vikram.

Hmm.

Mmm-hmm.

Fine.

The statement is ambiguous.

- Ready? - Ready. Ahem...

Action.

Today...

I am here

- to talk about ISRO's-- - Sir...

With that smile, it will give out a successful mission.

Let's reduce that a bit.

Today...

I come to you

- to talk about ISRO's-- - Sir.

You're a bit too sad.

The mission is partially successful, right?

A bit...

- Sir. - Now?

You're looking ambiguous.

Today...

I come to you

to talk about ISRO's--

Yes, Dr. Sankaran.

We've located Vikram.

- What? - We found it.

That's... That's fantastic!

I mean, it's great news.

We're still trying

- to establish contact. - Well...

Since you found it, you'll be able to contact it.

- Dr. Ramaiah is on it. - Okay.

Great. See you soon.

- Shall we continue? - No.

No need for a recording.

Write a new statement celebrating success.

Forget recording, we'll soon have a live briefing in Bangalore.

Let's go.

As we speak,

the ISRO team is trying to communicate with Vikram.

And we're really proud of the ISRO team for this achievement.

Sir.

After this achievement,

will India's influence grow in shaping the laws

that govern space?

Of course.

India will make an effort

to govern space in a friendly manner.

Sir, last time, I lost my increment.

Please find that too.

To fulfil this...

...we're talking to the members of

the UN Security Council on an urgent basis,

so that we can finally have a seat at the space table.

Sir, what about your future missions?

Look,

I appreciate the excitement,

but these aren't swift decisions.

- Did you read this? - See this.

Can you check this?

Oh, my God!

- Is this for real? - Hey! How?

- See that? This says something else. - Are they sure about this?

Sir! Sir, are you sure?

I hope your team members didn't play a prank on you.

It's possible.

- Is this a joke or what? - What?

Ask Mohanty to stop the briefing!

It's not the lander. Only pieces of the lander have been found.

Were these photos taken

after the orbiter was lowered?

Arjun was wrong!

Vikram crashed!

Sir, are you ashamed of ISRO scientists for peddling such lies?

Look at this.

- This is major news. - Hello?

Sankaran.

A Chennai college student

just debunked ISRO's claims.

A space enthusiast.

In other words, he keeps a close watch on space activities.

His name is Sachhidanand,

and he is with us now.

So, I read NASA's statement that they couldn't find the lander.

I downloaded the LRO images on my computer,

and I could find something out of the ordinary

in a particular spot.

I emailed NASA

explaining that this could be possible debris.

- Sir, sir! - Just a second.

Sir, please!

Look,

I've just been on a high-level call.

And let me tell you this...

that we are committed to transparency.

We've formed a failure analysis committee

on an immediate basis

that will conduct a thorough investigation

of the landing of Chandrayaan-2.

I'm personally setting up this committee.

Our Director of Thumba, Sudarshan Ramaiah,

will be the lead investigator.

In a great institution like ISRO,

whatever factors led to this failure,

whether internal incompetence

or external sabotage,

a rational, experienced scientist like Dr. Ramaiah

will help us identify and eliminate them.

We'll find those

who are trying to stop India from becoming

a technological superpower.

We'll question them,

and we'll make sure that they're severely punished.

Ma'am.

Have you seen Mr. Arjun?

No.

I'll go check.

If we want to conquer the world,

we must first conquer ourselves.

Do you understand now

why your dad made you promise that you'd become a scientist?

Yes, Mom.

So that India will have the best technology in the world.