New Delhi: Chief Ministers from all across the nation on Saturday hailed the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) stride towards the Moon.
Their reactions came after communication between India's moon lander Vikram and the orbiter got snapped in a last minute snag with the former just 2.1 km away from its designated landing spot on the Moon's South Pole early on Saturday.
Announcing the loss of the communication link, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said that the performance of the lander was as per the plan till it was at an altitude of 2.1 km from the Moon's surface.
But despite the setback, the Chief Ministers hailed the hard work and efforts put in by the space agency and its scientists.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took to Twitter, saying that ISRO's "work will not go in vain." He added that it would inspire many and "lay the foundation for many more path-breaking space projects and make India a leader in space science."
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also took to the micro-blogging site, saying there were no failures, but only temporary roadblocks.
While Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "leadership and the way he ignited courage, hope and motivation among the scientists and gave the mantra of "never give up and keep marching ahead", his Goa counterpart Pramod Sawant said the scientists were "among the few special ones in the world who possessed the expertise and capabilities to undertake space missions of such great magnitude."
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said that a "minor setback in the last stanza is a stepping stone for success."
Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa took to Twitter to hail the ISRO for "having dared to land at South Pole of the Moon where no one else has ever attempted," adding that this was "just a success postponed."
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that he was certain that the ISRO scientists would overcome this "small setback."
While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet that there was no need to lose hope as "our scientists have done a great job," his Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh expressed hope for the revival of communication with the lander.
Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the Chandrayaan-2 "a befitting tribute to our founding fathers who envisioned India's place in the league of scientifically advanced nations far ahead of their times."
"A testimony to the scientific temper they ingrained in us, and their unmatched caliber and dedication," she added.
Chief Ministers Jai Ram Thakur (Himachal Pradesh), Kamal Nath (Madhya Pradesh) and Raghubar Das (Jharkhand) also took to Twitter to congratulate the ISRO for its efforts.
While Thakur retweeted a video of Modi's address to the nation on Saturday morning, Das said the Prime Minister "stood like a rock despite the setback." Nath said the "hard work and efforts will not go waste".
Chief Ministers Sarbananda Sonowal (Assam), Conrad Sangma (Meghalaya), Pema Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh), N. Biren Singh (Manipur) and Biplab Kumar Deb (Tripura) also expressed their gratitude to the Indian space agency on Twitter.
Deb in his tweet also mentioned Subrata Chakraborty, a key engineer in the Chandrayaan-2 mission who hails from Tripura.