Bengaluru: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has expressed gratitude to Indians in the country for the support it received after it had lost contact with the lander of Chandrayaan-2. People from all walks of life praised the space agency and its scientist for the remarkable feat, despite it losing communication with the lander 'Vikram' ahead of the touchdown on 7th September. "Thank you for standing by us. We will continue to keep going forward propelled by the hopes and dreams of Indians across the world!" ISRO tweeted on Tuesday.

Thank you for standing by us. We will continue to keep going forward — propelled by the hopes and dreams of Indians across the world! pic.twitter.com/vPgEWcwvIa — ISRO (@isro) September 17, 2019

"Thank you for inspiring us to always aim for the sky," the Indian Space Research Organisation said. Prime Minister Modi, who had flown down to Bengaluru to watch the planned touchdown of Vikram, had told ISRO scientists not to get disheartened and said the country was proud of them. "I see disappointment on your faces. No need to get dejected. We have learnt a lot," Modi had said.

Lander Vikram, with rover Pragyan housed inside it, lost communication with ground-stations during its final descent, just 2.1 kms above the lunar surface, minutes before the planned touch-down on the Moon. Efforts to reestablish the link have been going on since then.

On September 8, ISRO had said the lander was spotted on the lunar surface by camera on-board of the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter. The space agency after losing contact with the lander had said that till date, 90 to 95 per cent of the Chandrayaan-2 mission objectives have been accomplished and it would continue contribute to Lunar science, notwithstanding the loss of communication with the Lander. It had also noted that the precise launch and mission management has ensured a long life of almost 7 years instead of the planned one year for the orbiter.

-With inputs from Agencies

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