DRDO chairman calls Chandrayaan 2 a very complex mission, lauds PM Narendra Modi for backing ISRO scientists

The DRDO chief said that PM Narendra Modi's hug and encouragement boosted the morale of ISRO scientists who were left heartbroken due to the last mile glitch in a hugely successful mission.

Pic courtesy: IANS

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy on Sunday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hugging and consoling ISRO chief Dr K Sivan after the latter broke down minutes after Chandrayaan 2's Vikram Lander lost contact with ISRO Command Centre in Bengaluru. The DRDO chief said that PM Modi's hug and encouragement boosted the morale of ISRO scientists who were left heartbroken due to the last mile glitch in a hugely successful mission.

Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Chairman of Defence Research&Development Organisation, on PM hugged&consoled ISRO Chief K Sivan after he(Sivan) broke down following #Chandrayaan2Landing: It's a great gesture by PM. It's great morale booster for scientists who saw last mile glitch in mission pic.twitter.com/Q8abhjONhL — ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2019

"It's a great gesture by PM. It's great morale booster for scientists who saw the last mile glitch in mission," DRDO chief told ANI. Dr Reddy added that it seems that PM's gesture motivated ISRO scientists to again work on the mission and they started finding out the reason which caused the loss of communication between Vikram Lander and ISRO. "I think, after that gesture, ISRO scientists again started working on the mission, started looking for what actually happened; that’s how they could locate the rover also," noted the DRDO chief.

Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Chairman of Defence Research&Development Organisation (DRDO): I think, after that gesture, ISRO scientists again started working on the mission, started looking for what actually happened & that’s how they could locate the rover also. #Chandrayaan2 https://t.co/AC9KqRBrzK — ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2019

Dr Reddy also slammed Pakistani leaders for making fun of ISRO's mission and said that they are unaware of the complexity of the mission and these people have not got the basic courtesy to appreciate missions of such magnitude. "The people who haven't done anything of this class I don't think they can appreciate and probably they cannot understand the complexity of this mission," said Dr Reddy.

Dr G. Satheesh Reddy, Chairman of DRDO, on Pakistani ministers trying to ridicule Indian space programme: The people who haven't done anything of this class I don't think they can appreciate and probably they cannot understand the complexity of this mission. #Chandrayaan2 pic.twitter.com/CzlN64TgkE — ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2019

Calling Chandrayaan 2 a very complex mission, the DRDO chairman said that only those who have undertaken such missions will be able to appreciate the scientists who are involved in these missions. "Chandrayaan 2 is a very complex mission. This type of a complex mission can be appreciated by those people who have also taken up such missions," he noted.

Earlier on Sunday, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief had said that the location of Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram Lander, which had lost contact with the space agency 2.1 km above the Moon’s surface, has been found. The ISRO chief, however, added that communication with Vikram Lander was yet to be established.

“We have found the location of Vikram Lander on lunar surface and orbiter has clicked a thermal image of Lander. But there is no communication yet. We are trying to have contact. It will be communicated soon,” said Sivan.