Chandrayaan 2: What K Sivan said as India ISRO loses communication with Vikram moon lander

Bengaluru : 1.55 am on Saturday came and went. There was an utmost silence at the mission control room when K Sivan first briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then made the announcement in public about them losing communication with the Moon lander Vikram. 

Communication to the Chandrayaan 2's lander Vikram was lost. At 3.10 am, an ISRO scientist - not the chief - announced that a planned press conference had been called off.

"Vikram lander's descent was as planned and normal performance was observed up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, the communication from the lander to ground station was lost. The data is being analysed," K Sivan declared at around 2.16 am to a room full of crestfallen scientists at the centre in Bengaluru.

The lander passed several phases on a positive note as it descended to land on the south pole of the Moon.

The graph showed a normal trajectory.

In its last tweet at 1:49 am, ISRO said: "Rough breaking of #VikramLander ends and Fine braking phase starts. #Chandrayaan2 #ISRO."

The nation was waiting for the big news when K Sivan was seen heading towards PM Modi.

As PM Modi left, he patted the ISRO chief on his back and gave the scientists a pep-talk. "Don't lose hope. Be courageous. There are ups and downs in life. What you all have done is not a small thing. You have done a great service to the country, science and mankind. I am with you. I wish you all the best."

He later tweeted: "These are moments to be courageous, and courageous we will be!"