Pakistani explorer Namira Salim.

NEW DELHI: Amid all the hostilities and war of words with India, Pakistani explorer Namira Salim has praised Chandrayaan-2 mission, saying India’s attempt to make a landing on Moon was a “giant leap”.

Namira, who was born in Karachi and currently based in the UAE, said, “The lunar mission is indeed a giant leap for South Asia which not only makes the region but the entire global space industry proud.”

Her statement came two days after Pakistan science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry mocked the Indian mission, saying “the Indian toy has landed in Mumbai instead of Moon”. The minister’s statement drew a lot of criticism from Pakistanis as well.

Namira, who holds an Ivy League masters degree in international affairs from Columbia University, had been trained and qualified for her suborbital spaceflight at the NASTAR Center in the US under the supervision of Virgin Galactic in 2007. She had undertaken peace expeditions to all three poles of the world as well as the first Asian to skydive (tandem) over Mount Everest in 2008.

Meanwhile, the praise of India’s moon mission continues to pour in. The UAE space agency appreciated the mission, tweeting, “The UAE Space Agency assures their full support to Isro following the loss of contact with their spacecraft, Chandrayaan-2...”

Japan, which is going to launch a “joint lunar polar exploration with India in early 2020s”, too has lauded India’s efforts. “We applaud Isro and their scientists for their challenges with the Chandrayaan-2,” the Japanese embassy in India said.

The Australian space agency also lauded Isro's commitment to its mission. It said, "To the team at Isro, we applaud your efforts and the commitment to continue our journey into space."

The Planetary Society community in America called for support to Isro in order to encourage them and boost their morale. “Planetary Society community, please join us in sending support to Isro on the apparent crash landing of their Vikram Lander,” a tweet by the Planetary Society said.

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