India will realise the goal of reaching moon, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that India will realise its goal of reaching the moon and the ISRO scientists will not stop till the goal is achieved.

PM Modi, who unveiled several development initiatives here and addressed a rally, said he had been with ISRO scientists early Saturday and was impressed by the courage shown by them.

"ISRO and those associated with it belong to the third category. They do not stop or get tired or pause before the mission is attained. Though we have faced a challenge in Mission Chandrayaan 2, ISRO's scientists will not stop till they reach the goal. The dream of reaching the moon will be realised," he said.

"How hard work is done to achieve the goal, how in adverse conditions, in the face of challenges goal can be achieved, we can learn it from our engineers and scientists," he said.

Modi said there were three kinds of people who strive to attain goals -- those who do not even start due to fear of failure, those who start but run away upon facing challenges and those who strive continuously despite big challenges.

The Prime Minister had witnessed the descent of 'Vikram' Lander at the ISRO Control Centre early on Saturday. The Lander descended normally till an altitude of 2.1 km from the surface of the moon but subsequently, communication to the ground stations was lost.

Modi said it was a historic achievement that the Orbiter, which was a significant part of the Chandrayaan 2 mission, has been placed successfully in the lunar orbit.

The Prime Minister said he has seen the spirit of people of Mumbai and felt that he should share the spirit of ISRO staff with them.