NASA commends ISRO's attempt to land on moon: Your journey has inspired us

NASA on Saturday commended ISRO's attempt to place 'Vikram' lander of Chandrayaan 2 mission on the moon's south pole and said it was inspired with the Indian space agency's journey.

The US space agency also said that it looks forward to working with ISRO to explore the solar system together.

"Space is hard. We commend ISRO's attempt to land their #Chandrayaan2 mission on the Moon's South Pole. You have inspired us with your journey and we look forward to future opportunities to explore our solar system together," NASA said in a tweet.

The communication with Vikram lander was lost in the wee hours of Saturday, moments before its planned landing on the south pole region of the moon. ISRO chairman K Sivan announced that communication with the lander was lost at 2.1 km from the lunar surface.

The Vikram lander successfully separated from Chandrayaan 2 orbiter on September 2. The Chandrayaan 2 orbiter continues to orbit the moon.

After revolving around the Earth's orbit for nearly 23 days, the spacecraft began its journey to the moon on August 14. The mission took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 22.

In his address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed ISRO's scientists saying that they live for the country and irrespective of setbacks, the country's resolve to reach the moon has strengthened more.

-ANI