Thimpu: Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering on Saturday praised Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientists for their courage and hard work on Chandrayaan-2 and said that despite a setback, he has no doubt that the space agency will achieve the space mission in the future.
"We are proud of India and its scientists today. Chandrayaan-2 saw some challenges last minute but courage and hard work you have shown are historical. Knowing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I have no doubt he and his ISRO team will make it happen one day," tweeted Tshering.
Some students from Bhutan were also present among the over 70 kids in the ISRO Monitoring Centre in Bengaluru, watching the Chandrayaan-2 mission.
Early on Saturday, communications between the Vikram lander and the orbiter got snapped when the former was only 2.1 km away from its designated landing spot on the moon's South Pole, leading to suspense over the fate of the Rs 978 crore mission.
Announcing the snapping 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.
After the setback, Prime Minister Modi told ISRO scientists not to lose heart.
"Whatever you have done till now is no mean feat. The nation is proud of you. You all have served the nation and done a great service to science and mankind. Move ahead with lots of courage. I am with you, hope for the best," he said.
In a series of tweets subsequently, the Prime Minister said: "India is proud of our scientists! They've given their best and have always made India proud. These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be!