‘Nothing to despair’, says Venkaiah Naidu after ISRO loses communication with moon lander

ISRO’s plan to soft land Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram module on the lunar surface did not go as per script in the early hours of Saturday, with the lander losing communication with ground stations during its final descent.

There is nothing to despair, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday as ISRO lost contact with its moon lander.

India’s second Moon mission Chandrayaan-2 lifts off onboard GSLV Mk III-M1 launch vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. (PTI Photo)

ISRO’s plan to soft land Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram module on the lunar surface did not go as per script in the early hours of Saturday, with the lander losing communication with ground stations during its final descent.

“There is nothing to despair. ISRO only lost communication with the Lander & not the hopes of 1.3 billion Indians,” Naidu’s secretariat tweeted.

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The vice president said the orbiter with its payloads is performing its mission. “I salute @isro scientists, engineers & everyone else associated with Chandrayaan-2 for their hard work & dedication in trying to conquer new frontiers in space exploration,” he said.

Naidu also extended his best wishes for the Indian Space Research Organisation’s future endeavours, saying the country is proud of them.

(The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed)