n the wee hours of the night, the nation sat glued to their television sets in anticipation. Chandrayaan-2’s landing module had gone silent after Vikram the lander, went silent when it was merely 2 KMs from the landing surface of the moon. At 2:40 AM, ISRO chief K Sivan announced “Vikram lander descent was as planned and normal performance was observed upto an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, the communications from the lander to the ground station was lost. The data is being analyzed”.
Moments before K Sivan made the announce, one could see the Prime Minister pat Sivan on his back. The stress was palpable on the faces and drooped shoulders of thee scientists who were awaiting a successful landing after 45 days of Chandrayaan’s travel.
After the moon landing glitch, ISRO Chief K Sivan could be seen breaking down, with moist eyes and a heavy heart. At that moment, Prime Minister Modi can be seen embracing K Sivan and consoling him.
#WATCH PM Narendra Modi hugged and consoled ISRO Chief K Sivan after he(Sivan) broke down. #Chandrayaan2 pic.twitter.com/bytNChtqNK
— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2019
Not just the ISRO Chief, even Prime Minister Modi appeared visibly upset as he consoled K Sivan, the ISRO Chief who had, along with his team, worked tirelessly for months to ensure Vikram lands on the lunar surface.
In his address to the nation, PM Modi had said we will rise to the occasion and reach even newer heights of success. He said, “To our scientists, I want to say – India is with you.”
PM Modi had earlier tweeted, “India is proud of our scientists! They’ve given their best & have always made India proud. These are moments to be courageous, & courageous we will be! Chairman ISRO gave updates on Chandrayaan-2. We remain hopeful & will continue working hard on our space programme”.
