Nation applauds ISRO’s efforts on Chandrayaan-2 mission

As India woke up early on Saturday morning for the Chandrayaan – 2 Vikram Lander’s touchdown on the moon, some heartbreaking news was received. Mission Control had lost contact with the Vikram Lander as it was on its powered descent towards the lunar surface. The Pragyan rover, housed within the lander, is also lost. The lander was on its way to the lunar South Pole after successfully separating from the Chandrayaan-2 on September 2. However, the mission remains afloat with the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter which is healthy and all set to continue its one-year mission life in the lunar orbit, remotely observing the surface. Efforts of the ISRO team were widely appreciated with people taking to Twitter and expressing pride over the mission.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been keenly following the Chandrayaan-2 mission ever since it was launched on 22 July 2019, addressed the scientists of ISRO, and the entire world, on Saturday morning. He assured them that India is proud of its talented scientists who tirelessly worked to make this mission happen. “The effort was worth it and so was the journey,” he said while speaking at the ISRO Control Centre in Bengaluru.

The Vikram Lander had begun its descent towards the moon and was exhibiting normal performance till 1 am when it stopped transmitting any data from an altitude of 2.1 km. Efforts were made by mission control to re-establish contact with the lander. At 2.30 am, ISRO shared the sad news on Twitter, informing everyone about the lander being lost.

PM Modi also tweeted his appreciation for their efforts and said that greater things are to come.

Prime Minister Modi was also seen consoling ISRO Chief K. Sivan who was grieving over the tragic news.

Apart from Indian citizens, a number of celebrities had also tweeted their support:

All Indians can take a moment to appreciate what ISRO has done and hope for greater successes ahead. Chandrayaan-2 mission is a matter of pride for all the Indians and a testament to the world that India can scale any frontier in space. We are just 2.1 km away from the surface of the moon.