Chandrayaan-2: President Kovind praises 'exemplary commitment' of ISRO scientists

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday greeted Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO) scientists for their "exemplary commitment and courage" during the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

"With #Chandrayaan2 Mission, the entire team of ISRO has shown exemplary commitment and courage. The country is proud of @ISRO. We all hope for the best #PresidentKovind," President said in a tweet.

Earlier ISRO in a tweet announced that communication with Vikram lander was lost at 2.1 km from the lunar surface.

"This is Mission Control Centre. #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. #ISRO," the space agency said in a tweet.

The landing was planned to take place between 1:30 am to 2:30 am on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday.

The Vikram Lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter on September 2.

The Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter continues to orbit the Moon in its existing orbit.

The Vikram lander was planned to land on the far side of the moon between 1:30 am to 2:30 am on the intervening night of Friday-Saturday. This would have been followed by rover (Pragyan) roll-out between 5:30 am to 6:30 am.

After revolving around the Earth's orbit for nearly 23 days, the craft began its journey to the moon on August 14.

The mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22. India's second mission to the moon was approved by the cabinet in September 2008, just before the launch of Chandrayaan 1.

-ANI

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