May 18, 2026 12:55 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Kathak to Garba: Indian diaspora stuns PM Modi with grand welcome in Amsterdam | ‘Geography or history’: Indian Army chief issues blunt warning to Pakistan over terror support | India, UAE ink key energy deals during Modi’s visit amid West Asia tensions | ‘There can be no better Bengal CM’: Mithun Chakraborty praises Suvendu Adhikari | PM Modi adviser Sanjeev Sanyal frontrunner for Bengal Finance Minister: Report | FIR against Abhishek Banerjee over ‘provocative speeches’ during West Bengal poll campaign | Madhya Pradesh High Court holds Bhojshala complex disputed site to be a temple | ‘Even ex-CM can be probed’: Suvendu Adhikari’s big statement on RG Kar case | Big action in RG Kar case: Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari suspends 3 IPS officers, including ex-CP Vineet Goyal | Modi’s UAE visit delivers major defence, energy deals amid Middle East tensions

Chandrayaan 2 goes wrong: ISRO loses communication with Vikram lander

| @indiablooms | Sep 07, 2019, at 02:48 am

Bengaluru: While India waited with bated breath to watch live the landing of Chandrayaan 2 on lunar surface, disappointment greeted them in the wee hours of Saturday when ISRO Chairman after tense moments said they have lost communication with Lander Vikram at the last stage (2.1 km above the Moon's surface). It cannot be said if the mission is a complete failure at this stage as ISRO scientists hope for a miracle. 

"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," said a rather grim-faced Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief K Sivan. 

Cheering up, PM Modi present at the control room told the scientists: "I am with you."  "Country is proud of you. Congratulations from my side. You have done a great service to the country and to humankind. Your efforts will go on and I am completely with you," said the PM.

India was expecting to script a space history by becoming the first nation to reach closest to the Moon's south pole. 

India remained glued to the television sets and internet and platforms on social media to watch the proud moment live while at the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) mission control room  in Bengaluru, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's galaxy of space scientists and some 70-odd students from across the country and even Bhutan were present to witness the event.

The Chandrayaan 2  soft landing on the lunar surface was to occur at 1:55 am on Saturday.

The moon lander Vikram, which separated from its orbiting mothership, earlier performed two manoeuvres.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.