While Pakistani citizens are busy trolling ISRO, Namira Salim, Pakistan’s first female astronaut, has come forward and congratulated the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) on the Chandrayaan-2 mission and its historic attempt to make a landing on the Moon’s surface.
In a statement to the Karachi-based digital science magazine, Scientia, Ms Salim added: “I congratulate India and ISRO on its historical attempt to make a successful soft landing of the Vikram lander at the South Pole of the Moon.”
“The Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission is indeed a giant leap for South Asia which not only makes the region but the entire global space industry proud.”
“Regional developments in the space sector in South Asia are remarkable and no matter which nation leads – in space, all political boundaries dissolve and in space – what unites us, overrides, and divides us on Earth.”
It should be learnt that Ms Salim is known as the first Pakistani to go to space aboard the Virgin Galactic.
Her remarks came after the connection between India’s moon lander Vikram and the orbiter got disconnected in a last-minute snag when the lander was just 2.1 km away from its designated landing spot on the Moon (far side of the South Pole) early on Saturday.
On Sunday, the ISRO had announced that it had found Vikram on the lunar surface. Pics of the lander was captured by Chandrayaan-2 orbiter which is orbiting the Moon.
In a massive update, Indian space agency ISRO has claimed that the Vikram lander is safe and has not broken into bits and pieces soon after landing on the moon’s surface. The space agency has confirmed that the Vikram lander is safe after contact was lost with the lander on Friday night, just 2 minutes before landing on the moon.
Vikram lander was 2.1 km from its landing spot when the communication was lost. Meanwhile, ISRO chief Dr K Sivan in an official statement said: “The lander’s trajectory was normal up till 2.1 km after which the connection was lost.”
ISRO has also confirmed that efforts are being put to re-establish connection with the lander while also adding that the lander is in a tilted position.
ISRO was congratulated by scientists and space agencies from nook and corner of the world after a heroic first attempt at landing on the moon.
“It had a hard-landing very close to the planned (touch-down) site as per the images sent by the on-board camera of the orbiter. The lander is there as a single piece, not broken into pieces. It’s in a tilted position,” an ISRO official who is linked with the mission claimed on Monday.
“We are making all-out efforts to see whether communication can be re-established with the lander,” the official said.