'India's proud moment': Nation comes out in support of ISRO after Vikram lander's silence

Mumbai: Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) announcement that the communication with Vikram lander was lost evoked reactions from all bigwigs to common citizens across India, who stood in solidarity.

The first words of support following ISRO chairman K Sivan’s disappointing announcement came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was at the ISRO control centre in Bengaluru. "Communication has been lost. I could see the anxiety on your faces. There is no need to get disappointed because it is not a small achievement. The country is proud of you," Modi said.

The PM later tweeted that the country remains hopeful and is proud of the scientists at ISRO.

President Ram Nath Kovind said the scientists had shown exemplary courage and that country is proud of them.

Appealing to the people to not lose hope, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu maintained that the Orbiter is still performing its mission.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also took to Twitter stating that the nation stands with the scientists at ISRO.

Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yediyurappa boosted the morale of the team at Isro and said, “We are with you Isro. Proud of you to have dared to land at the south pole of the moon where no one else has ever attempted. Your capabilities and achievements have always made our country stand tall. This is just a success postponed.”

The Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also praised the hard work of the ISRO scientists.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy took to Twitter and lauded ISRO's hard work and great efforts. "We were almost there! India is proud of our scientists. A minor setback in the last stanza is a stepping stone for success. The nation stands with ISRO team at this hour and appreciates the exemplary efforts," Reddy tweeted with an emoji of clapping hands.

Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, stood in support of ISRO and shared pictures of Chandrayaan 2 on his twitter page.

The space agency received words from encourage from several other leaders and public figures Union Minister Smriti Irani, H D Deve Gowda, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman among others.

The space agency in a tweet said, "This is Mission Control Centre. #VikramLander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, communication from Lander to the ground stations was lost. Data is being analyzed. #ISRO."

"Deeply saddened. The mission was 93% successful except the last 2.1 km. Don't forget NASA have failed 10 times before making its first impact in moon. We have just lost the lander but the orbitor will be making science for a year. #Chandrayaan2Live #Chandrayaan2Landing," a twitter user wrote.

"It's literally rocket science. Irrespective of the outcome, proud of @isro for inspiring a billion people with their efforts," another user wrote.

"It's a great attempt by ISRO, kudos for all the hard work which ISRO scientists have put in for this mission. Still many more achievements to come. We should be proud of this mission. Jai hind," a user named Gopal Rajnified tweeted.

Some said they were hoping for a Bollywood style scene.

"After long silence from control room, "I was hoping for Bollywood style scene in which one intern runs to K Sivan shouting "Sir , receiving data .. We are receiving data from Vikram"," said one user.

Other said there is nothing like failure or misses in science and technology.

One twitter user wrote, "Amazing how all of the world came together to watch #Chandrayaan2Landing and gave a sigh of heartbreak when it failed. Funny how humans compete with each other here but are brought together by something that's far, far out there."