Solace for Isro as NASA says it's inspired by Indian space agency's efforts

We should not be discouraged. India was trying to do something very very difficult, said NASA

United States space agency NASA has said that the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) inspired it with Chandrayaan-2.

The space NASA tweeted saying, "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 look forward to future opportunities to explore our solar system together".

Former NASA Astronaut Jerry Linenger said the lessons learned from India's “bold attempt” to soft land Chandrayaan-2's Vikram module on the lunar surface will help the country's future missions.

Linenger, who flew on Russian space station Mir that operated in low Earth orbit between 1986 and 2001, took take part in the live telecast of Chandrayaan-2 landing attempt on the National Geographic Channel.

"We should not be discouraged. India was trying to do something very very difficult," he told media.

If Vikram failed to land - which it seems like - remember the Orbiter is where 95 per cent of the experiments are held, Linenger added. 

The Orbiter is safely in Lunar orbit and performing its mission. This is not a total failure. Not at all, said Chris G, NSF, Assistant managing editor, journalist, and writer for @NASASpaceflight.

Isro's plan to soft land Vikram near the Moon's south pole suffered a setback in the early hours of September 7, with the lander losing communication with ground stations during its final descent.