ISRO scientists overcame the disorientation by using antenna-pointing mechanism and gyroscope on board the spacecraft.

'We overcame the failure of the star sensor and brought the mooncraft back into normal operation using gyroscopes, which are electro-mechanical devices used for remote sensing satellites to determine orientation accurately,' ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters here July 17.

Chandrayaan was launched amid fanfare Oct 22, 2008, from India's only spaceport Sriharikota, about 90 km north-east of Chennai, onboard the 316-tonne polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C11) and inserted into the lunar orbit Nov 8. A week later, on Nov 16, its moon impact probe (MIP) was crashed into the lunar surface.

The 11 scientific payloads onboard the mooncraft continue to send high quality data as per planned sequence to its ground station (DSN).

The mooncraft has orbited around the moon 3,000 times over the last eight months and its high-resolution cameras relayed about 70,000 digital images of the lunar surface, providing breathtaking views of mountains and craters, including those in the permanently shadowed area of the moon's polar region.

Of the 11 scientific instruments (payloads), five are Indian. Of the other six, three are from the European Space Agency (ESA), two from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US and one from Bulgaria.

The total solar eclipse, that lasted over six minutes and 39 seconds, is said to be the longest in the 21st century.