India stands in solidarity with ISRO, best yet to come: PM Modi

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Sept 7 (ANI): Boosting the morale of scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) after the space agency lost communication with Chandrayaan-2's lander Vikram, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India stands in solidarity with them and the country believes that best is yet to come.
While addressing the scientists here, Prime Minister Modi said, "Friends I could feel what you were going through few hours back, your eyes were conveying a lot. I could read the sadness on your faces. You have spent sleepless nights. Every person associated with this mission was in a different state, there were a lot of questions... I lived that moment with you when the connection was lost... There were questions in mind why the connection was lost?"
The Prime Minister stated that "even though there have been some obstacles, but this has not weakened our morale, rather it has further strengthened."
"For the last few hours, the entire nation was awake. We were awake in solidarity with our scientists, who had embarked on one of the most ambitious missions of our space program. We came very close, but we will need to cover more ground in the times to come. Every Indian is filled with the spirit of pride as well as confidence. We are proud of our space program and scientists," the Prime Minister said amid thundering applause from ISRO scientists.
He further highlighted the innovative zeal of the Indian scientists because of which "several people have got access to better quality of life, including better healthcare and education facilities."
"At the same time, we are full of confidence that when it comes to our space programme, the best is yet to come. There are new frontiers to discover and new place to go," the Prime Minister stated.
"We will rise to the occasion and scale newer heights of success," he said.
Stressing on the efforts of the scientific community, Prime Minister said, "India is with you! You are exceptional professionals who have made an incredible contribution to national progress. You will give us several more opportunities to smile. You came as close as you could. I also salute the families of our space scientists."
Prime Minister Modi also eloquently spoke about Indian ethos and glorious history while assuring the scientific community of 'bouncing back to do spectacular things'.
"Resilience and tenacity are central to India's ethos. In our glorious history, we have faced moments that may have slowed us but they have never crushed our spirit. We have bounced back again and gone on to do spectacular things. This is why our civilisation stands tall", he said.
Prime Minister also outlined that efforts and journey were also as significant as the final result and the learnings of today will only help in becoming better and stronger.
"I can proudly say that the effort was worth it and so was the journey... Our team worked hard, travelled far and those teachings will always remain with us. We will look back at this journey and efforts with great satisfaction. The learning's from today will make us stronger and better. There will be a new dawn and a brighter tomorrow very soon," he said.
Prime Minister Modi also told the scientists that there are no failures in science and 'only experiment and efforts'.
He also stated that the "last stage of the journey of Chandrayaan-2, might not have been as per our expectations, but we have to remember that the journey of Chandrayaan-2 was spectacular. Even now, our orbiter is still revolving around the moon".
Towards the end of his address, the Prime Minister wished good luck to ISRO scientists for upcoming projects and added, "When ISRO has its encyclopedia of success, then some hurdles cannot put its flight out of trajectory."
ISRO chairman K Sivan announced that communication with Vikram lander was lost at 2.1 km from lunar surface. "Vikram landers descend was normal and as planned till 2.1 km. Subsequently, communication with Vikram lander was lost. Data is being analyzed," Sivan said.
The Vikram lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter on September 2. The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in its existing orbit.
The Vikram lander was planned to land on the far side of the moon between 1:30 am to 2:30 am on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday. After revolving around the Earth's orbit for nearly 23 days, the craft began its journey to the moon on August 14.
The mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22. (ANI)