Indian at heart, Indian in spirit: PM Modi celebrates Chandrayaan 2 launch

New Delhi, July 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated ISRO for the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 and said scientists overcame the glitches during the previous launch, proving their grit and determination.

The prime minister spoke with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Sivan and congratulated him and the team involved in the mission, saying the launch is a matter of pride for all Indians

"Last week, the launch had to be postponed due to technical reasons. You found the technical glitch with alacrity and took steps to solve it. And now, within a week you achieved success in the launch. You deserve a special congratulations for this," Modi said

It is an excellent example of the talent, capability and self confidence of the scientists to take on any challenge, he said

"The bigger the challenge, the intention gets equally big. I am told despite a delay of a week, the date of Chandrayaan-2 reaching the moon will remain the same," Modi said

The prime minister pointed out that the mission team not only overcame the challenges of the previous launch, but has also decided to reach the moon in a shorter period of time

He said it will be the first Indian spacecraft to reach the surface of moon and the country will become the fourth nation to land on the moon

With this, Modi said, India will contribute to enhance the knowledge of humankind in the knowledge of the lunar surface.