Chandrayaan 2: PM Modi interacted with ISRO scientists after communication was lost with Vikram lander

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked ISRO scientists not to get disheartened by the hurdles in the Moon mission Chandrayaan 2 and asserted that there will be a "new dawn".

ISRO's plan to soft-land Chandrayaan 2's Vikram lander 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, seconds before touchdown.

Addressing the scientists hours after ISRO announced that it had lost communication with the lander, PM Modi also said that the country's determination to land on the moon has become even stronger.

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

PM Modi had earlier watched the proceedings as the lander began its descent towards the surface of the Moon at the ISRO centre in Bengaluru.

