The discovery of Lander Vikram on the lunar South Pole has come as music to the ears of ISRO and countless others in the country, who followed keenly the progress of the mission. Chandrayan 2 was launched successfully on July 22nd, and it was to land on the moon, on 7th September. Since the launch other plans went off as planned, the whole nation waited to see the Vikram land smoothly on the unexplored South Pole, of the moon. But then when it was 2km away the ISRO lost the contact with the lander. Though subsequently the lander was sighted, ISRO is yet to establish contact with the lander. Let us understand that the success in space programs is fraught with great risks, and failures are part and parcel of scientific research. The entire nation stood by ISRO and was overwhelmed by the brilliant efforts made by its scientists behind the mission Chandrayaan 2. It's overwhelming to know that ISRO has garnered high support and wishes across various sections of society including the science community, Bollywood, sports community and political leadership. Now they are waiting with bated breath to reestablish communication with the lander. If it happens it will be certainly a proud moment for the nation as a whole. The efforts of the scientists were not a setback but steppingstones to success. Here Let us appreciate our PM, who hugged and consoled, when Dr.Shivan started weeping, which appeared on front pages of all newspapers, and TVs, which lifted ISRO’s spirits and converted a scientific setback into a national celebration of space power. A marginal failure was hailed as a massive victory. Soon after PM concluded his remark with “Bharat Mata ki Jai” not only India but the entire world hailed ISRO’s mojo and not its partial failure. Modi’s hug went viral and was seen by over 100 million people world over. Never before have digital media outfits smiled, virtually communication networks choked with pictures, texts, and memes. PM’s gesture towards ISRO Chief over the failure demonstrates leadership and spirit of fairness. Here my personal feeling is, that such emotional outbursts should be avoided in public domain and instead the team should put up a brave face to the entire world and accept the failure in the right spirit of the game.

However, hope and despair of a nation were vividly depicted in those moments when a journey of the scientific pride went awry in the last lap. Having accomplished so much ISRO could be undertaking necessary corrections to launch the mission once again, as the whole country has faith in its capabilities.