Chandraayan 2: Sonia Gandhi's remarks were tweeted by Congress this morning.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi this morning said the nation followed the journey of Chandraayan 2, India's second moon mission, "at every step no matter the hour". ISRO's ambitious moon mission hit a snag earlier today minutes before a historic landing on the lunar surface.
In a statement, Sonia Gandhi said "every obstacle is a stepping stone to future success".
"The nation followed Chandrayaan 2's journey at every step no matter the hour," she said. "Chandrayaan 2 has laid the foundation for achieving greater feats and the entire country awaits in anticipation for traversing the next frontier of space," the 72-year-leader said.
Praising the scientists working with the space agency, she stressed: "We owe a great debt to ISRO and the brilliant men and women who staff it. Their hard work and dedication has earned India a place in the league of space-faring nations and have inspired generations to reach for the stars."
ISRO scientists have achieved "incredible feats with 115 successful space missions and astounding success with Chandrayaan 1 (India's first Moon Mission) and Mangalyaan (Mars Mission) and the nation is extremely proud of their immense successes," the Congress leader added.
Chandrayaan 2 mission was cleared by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008. It was supposed to be a joint collaborative mission between India and Russia, however, in 2012, ISRO decided to go solo.
More than a month after its launch from Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota, Chandrayaan mission hit a snag today as the lander Vikram lost contact with the ground station minutes before it was expected to land on the moon.
"Our determination to touch the moon has become even stronger and the best is yet to come," Prime Minister Narendra Modi told ISRO scientists this morning in Bengaluru.
Soon after the snag, Congress's Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "Congratulations to the team at ISRO for their incredible work on the Chandrayaan 2 Moon mission. Your passion and dedication is an inspiration to every Indian. Your work is not in vain. It has laid the foundation for many more path breaking and ambitious Indian space missions."
While the contact with Vikram lander is lost, the orbiter can still take pictures of the moon and send it to the ISRO over the next year.