- By Abhinav Gupta
- Sat, 07 Sep 2019 03:12 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked ISRO scientists to "be courageous" and hope for the best soon after India's space agency announced that communication with Chandrayaan-2's Vikram lander was lost before touchdown on Saturday.
PM Modi, who witnessed the proceedings at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) centre here, told the scientific community that the country was proud of them and asked them to be courageous.
“There are ups and downs in life. This is not a small achievement. The nation in 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,” he said.
Also Read: Chandrayaan 2: Communications from lander 'Vikram' lost, says crestfallen ISRO
Minutes before making the announcement about losing communication with the 'Vikram' lander, ISRO Chairman K Sivan briefed the prime minister.
Later in a tweet, PM Modi said, "India is proud of our scientists! They've given their best and have always made India proud. These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be! Chairman @isro gave updates on Chandrayaan-2. We remain hopeful and will continue working hard on our space programme."
As per a timeline released earlier by ISRO, the lander Vikram was to land at 1:53am and the rover Pragyan was scheduled to roll down a ramp at 5:19am. In an extraordinary moment, the rover was to click a photograph of the lander at 5:45am.