Be courageous and hope for the best: Modi on Moon mission

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PM Modi at ISRO. Photo credit: DD National/Twitter

Bengaluru, September 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked ISRO scientists not to get disheartened by the hurdles in the moon mission Chandrayaan-2 and asserted that there would be a “new dawn”.

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.

Addressing the scientists hours after the ISRO announced that it had lost communication with the lander, he said that the country’s determination to land on the moon had become even stronger.

“We came very close, but we need to cover more ground….Learnings from today will make us stronger and better,” he told the scientists, adding, “The best is yet to come in our space programme. India is with you.”

Modi had earlier watched the proceedings as the lander began its descent towards the moon surface at an ISRO centre here. PTI