‘Don't Lose Hope, India Is Proud Of You’: PM Modi Tells ISRO After Contact Lost With Vikram Lander

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he would be interacting with the scientists at the ISRO shortly. Earlier, ISRO had tweeted that PM Modi would be interacting with the nation at 8am today.

PTI IMAGE

Bengaluru: During the early hours of Saturday, in the last stage snag, communications between India's moon lander Vikram and the orbiter got snapped as the former was only 2.1 km away from its designated landing spot on the moon's South Pole early on Saturday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in the ISRO headquarters to witness the historic moment, asked the scientists to not lose hope and be courageous. He said “There are ups and downs in life. This is not a small achievement. The nation is proud of you. Hope for the best. I congratulate you. You all have done a big service to nation, science and mankind. I am with you all the way, move forward bravely.”

#WATCH PM Narendra Modi at ISRO: There are ups and downs in life. This is not a small achievement. The nation is proud of you. Hope for the best. I congratulate you. You all have done a big service to nation, science and mankind. I am with you all the way, move forward bravely. pic.twitter.com/Iig1a8EuKD

— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he would be interacting with the scientists at the ISRO shortly. Earlier, ISRO had tweeted that PM Modi would be interacting with the nation at 8 am today. Announcing loss of the communication link, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan said that the performance of the lander was as per the plan till it was at an altitude of 2.1 km from the moon surface. The communication link got snapped after that, he added. All was going well with the 1,471 kg Vikram that began its descent at about 1.38 a.m. from an altitude of 30 km at a velocity of 1,680 metres per second. The lander was smoothly coming down with ISRO officials applauding at regular intervals and their faces beaming with pride. The lander successfully completed its rough braking phase with its descent speed going down well. It was then communication was lost, throwing a pall of gloom at the ISRO centre where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and students from across the country had gathered. On the screen it was seen that Vikram slightly changed from its planned path and then the link got snapped. Meanwhile, the 2,379 kg Chandrayaan-2 orbiter continues to fly around the moon. Its mission life is one year.