New Delhi, September 7:  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief K Sivan on Saturday said that the hopes are still alive. Efforts to connect link with Chandrayaan 2's Vikram lander will continue for the next 14 days, he told DD News. On Friday night, India was minutes away from creating history. However, Vikram lander lost communication with the ISRO at 2.1 km above the surface of the Moon. He also said that the Chandrayaan 2 mission is very close to 100 percent success. Man Behind Chandrayaan 2: K Sivan's Journey From Farmer's Son to ISRO Chief Is One of Its Kind.

He also said that the last portion was not executed the right way. "In that phase only we lost the link with the Vikram Lander and could not establish communication," Sivan said. ISRO chief said that for now the connection is lost. But for the next 14 days, the space agency will try to establish a link.Chandrayaan 2 Heartbreak: PM Modi, Nation Backs Indian Scientists; Here's List of ISRO's Most Notable Achievements.

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ISRO Chief said that the life expectancy of the orbiter is also enhanced due to surplus fuel. "The designated life term of the Orbiter was only one year. But because we have extra fuel right now available in the Orbiter, so the Orbiter life is estimated as seven and a half years," Sivan said.

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Praising the premier, Sivan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a source of inspiration. He said that PM Modi is support for them and his speech gave them motivation. "PM is a source of inspiration and support for us. His speech gave us motivation. In his speech, the special phrase that I noted was, Science should not be looked for results, but for experiments and experiments will lead to results."

Meanwhile, ISRO, in a statement, described Chandrayaan-2 as a highly-complex mission. The space organisation also emphasised that 90-95 per cent of the objectives had been achieved despite the loss of communication with Lander.

“This was a unique mission which aimed at studying not just one area of the Moon but all the areas combining the exosphere, the surface as well as the sub-surface of the moon in a single mission,” the statement said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 07, 2019 09:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).