Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spelled his pride over his country's space scientists’ program, which was about to achieve its first moon landing.
The Indian contact with “Chandrayaan-2” was lost, shortly before touching down at the lunar south pole. "The fate of the craft is not yet known, but there would be further opportunities.” PM Modi said.
If “Chandrayaan-2” did not fail to reach the moon, India would have been the fourth nation to make a soft landing on the Moon.
"The best is yet to come in our space program. India is with you," PM Modi added.
“Chandrayaan-2” had been approaching the Moon in its normal attitude, until some error had occurred about 2.1 km before reaching the surface, officials said.
India's Space Research Organization (ISRO) had announced it lost contact with “Chandrayaan-2” seconds before the ship was scheduled to land.
Chandrayaan-2, the Sanskrit word for "moon craft", was scheduled to touch down on the land of the lunar south pole in September 6 or 7, as the $141 million mission would analyze minerals, map the moon's surface and search for water.
In particular, it was expected to send a rover to explore water deposits that were confirmed by a previous mission that orbited the moon.
India's first moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, orbited the moon in 2008 and helped confirm the presence of water. The country plans to send its first manned spaceflight by 2022.
Initially, the mission would have been for 14 earth days.
India put a satellite into orbit around Mars in the nation's first interplanetary mission in 2013 and 2014.
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