‘A Giant Leap For South Asia’: Pakistan’s First Female Astronaut Lauds ISRO For Chandrayaan-2

Pakistan's first female astronaut, Namira Salim on Monday (9 September) hailed Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the Chandrayaan-2 mission and lauded for the giant leap it has made for entire South Asia, reports Economic Times.

Speaking to a Karachi-based magazine called Scientia, Salim said, "I congratulate India and ISRO on its historical attempt to make a successful soft landing of the Vikram lander at the South Pole of the Moon. The Chandrayaan-2 lunar mission is indeed a giant leap for South Asia which not only makes the region but the entire global space industry proud."

Salim who went to space aboard Sir Richard Branson's iconic Virgin Galactic spacecraft underscored that the regional developments in South Asia concerning the space sector have been remarkable and stressed that irrespective of the political boundaries, "space unites us, overrides, what divides us on earth."

Meanwhile, it was reported on Monday that the ISRO has successfully located the Vikram Lander which experienced a hand landing on the lunar surface after it underwent a communications lapse with the ground control station in Bengaluru.

The lander reportedly hasn’t been destroyed but is tilted, and found at a location not too far from the intended location. The ISRO scientists are engaged in restoring communications with the lander.