India's space program will bounce back strong from the apparent failure of Friday's (Sept. 6) lunar landing attempt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed.
The nation's Chandrayaan-2 moon orbiter dropped a lander called Vikram toward the lunar surface Friday afternoon. Everything went well for a while, but mission controllers lost contact with Vikram when the craft was just 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) above the gray dirt.
As of this writing, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had still not officially declared Vikram lost; the latest ISRO update stated that descent data are still being analyzed. But Modi's comments strongly suggest that Vikram and Pragyan, the rover that was supposed to deploy from the lander, are dead.
"We came very close, but we will need to cover more ground in the times to come," Modi said during an address to the nation that was webcast live Friday night (Saturday morning India time). "As important as the final result is the journey and the effort. I can proudly say that the effort was worth it, and so was the journey."
The prime minister also heaped praise on the Chandrayaan-2 team, emphasizing that the scientists and engineers were going after ambitious firsts — India's first moon landing, and the first touchdown attempt so close to the lunar south pole. (Vikram's prime landing site was at 70.9 degrees south latitude.)
"To our scientists, I want to say, India is with you. You are exceptional professionals who have made an incredible contribution to national progress," Modi said. "True to your nature, you ventured into a place where no one had ever been before."