ISRO Chandrayaan 2 Mission: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Addresses the Nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation after the ISRO Chandrayaan 2 mission did not go as planned. “This is Mission Control Centre. Vikram Lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed upto an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently communication from lander to the ground stations was lost. Data is being analyzed,” says an update from ISRO.

PM Narendra Modi said that this setback should not make us weak, and instead make us stronger. Our resolve to go to the moon has become even stronger today,” said the PM Narendra Modi. “The entire nation was awake the entire night in solidarity with ISRO scientists. We need to cover more ground. We are proud of our scientists’ hard work and determination,” added Modi. There will be many more opportunities to rejoice, he stated.

The ISRO Chandrayaan 2 Mission was going as planned, and the rough breaking of the Vikram Lander was successful. However, in the last few minutes of the landing, contact with the lander was lost. Data sent by Vikram Lander at 2:12 am ISTwill be analysed to get valuable insights into what went wrong.

Nevertheless, the orbiter will continue to orbit the moon for a period of one year and send information on the moon. The orbiter has 10 payloads onboard. “There is no failure in science, there is only trying and experimenting,” said PM Modi.

PM Modi also recounted the feat achieved by the Indian Space Research Organisation including the Mangalyaan Mission and other milestones. “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,” said Modi.