New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared an extremely emotional moment with ISRO chief after he broke down in tears. PM Modi, who addressed the ISRO scientists in Morning after the Chandrayaan-2 lost its contact with Vikram lander, was seen consoling Sivan. After the pep talk that lasted for about 30 minutes, Sivan broke down. At this point, PM Modi was seem embracing him, patting him on the back and consoling him. The emotional moment was captured live by media. Twitter is saluting ISRO’s tremendous courage and resilience. According to a report by the Times of India, of the 38 previous attempts of 'soft landing' on the lunar surface so far, only 20 have been successful. This translates into a success rate of 53%. So far, only three nations in the world have been successful in the lunar touchdown. They are – US, Russia and China.
#WATCH PM Narendra Modi hugged and consoled ISRO Chief K Sivan after he(Sivan) broke down. #Chandrayaan2 pic.twitter.com/R1d0C4LjAh
— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2019
Launched on July 22, Chandrayaan-2 entered the Moon's orbit on 20 August, a month after take-off. The touchdown of Vikram lander was scheduled between 1:30 am and 2:30 am, followed by the rollout of its rover named ‘Pragyaan’ between 5:30 am and 6.30 am. Chandrayaan-2 was the most complex mission ever attempted by the India's space agency. Had the landing gone as planned, India would have become the first country to the land a mission on the south pole of the Moon.
The 3,84,000 km journey that began on July 22 at Sriharikota launchpad was supposed to culminate with the soft-landing.In case of successful touchdown, ISRO was supposed to deploy the three payloads, named Chaste, Rambha and Ilsa. Chandrayaan-2, launched on July 22 by GSLV MkIII-M1 vehicle, had entered the Lunar Transfer Trajectory on August 14 after final orbit raising manoeuvre of the spacecraft was successfully carried out. According to ISRO, Lunar South Pole’s region has traces of hydrogen, ammonia, methane, sodium, mercury and silver making it an untapped source of essential resources.
