As the descent of Chandrayaan 2's Vikram lander did not stick to the intended schedule, speculations over its fate continue. In the meantime, the Congress party officially reacted to the latest development. It stated that the country stood in solidarity with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) team. It also added that their hard work and commitment had made everyone proud. 

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Rahul Gandhi expresses solidarity

Former Congress President and Member of Parliament from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi, tweeted about the Chandrayaan 2 mission. He congratulated the entire team of ISRO for the Second Moon Mission. He opined that every Indian would get inspired by the sheer dedication and passion of the ISRO scientists. Stressing that their effort would not go in vain, Gandhi observed that this will lay the foundation for pathbreaking and ambitious space missions in the future. 

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Congress leader Ahmed Patel also declared that ISRO's dedication was an inspiration for everyone. Quoting Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, he sought to convey a message that it was important to have a positive attitude despite failure.

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This is how the last minutes before the expected descent unfolded

ISRO Chairman K Sivan’s description of the last 15 minutes of the pre-landing phase of Vikram as ‘terror’ proved to be prophetic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the ISRO Monitoring Centre just before the descent was about to begin. The first part of the powered descent of Vikram lander was the Rough Breaking phase. While this was successfully completed, the next hurdle was the Fine Breaking phase. At this juncture, the anxiety in the room increased manifold. As the expected deadline for landing was breached, there was further uncertainty. Finally, there was an official update from the ISRO Chairman K Sivan. According to him, the descent of the Vikram lander was normal up to an altitude of 2.1 km. Subsequently, there was a loss of communication between Vikram and the Earth. He also mentioned that the available data was being scrutinized. 

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