India's flagship moon probe seems to be suffering from similar communications problems that blight the nation's blooming help desk industry.

According to news reports, the Chandrayaan-1 probe has hung up on the mission control help desk and is refusing to speak to anyone any more. S. Satish, spokesman for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that it was a serious problem. If we do not re-establish contact we will lose the spacecraft.

The $79-million mission was launched amid national euphoria. It put India in the Asian space race alongside rival China, reinforcing its claim to be considered a global power. It arrived and sent back images of the lunar surface.

However, a critical sensor in the main craft, orbiting the moon, malfunctioned in July and when it called the the helpdesk it was told “have you tried switching it off and on again”. It seems that the probe has gotten totally frustrated and is refusing to talk to anyone.