Your work not in vain, Rahul tells ISRO scientists

Moments after ISRO announced it had lost communication with its lander Vikram as it was descending towards the moon's surface on Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi congratulated the space agency for their "incredible" work which was an "inspiration to every Indian".

"Congratulations to the team at #ISRO for their incredible work on the Chandrayaan 2 Moon Mission. Your passion and dedication is an inspiration to every Indian," he tweeted.

Lauding the ISRO team's efforts on getting Vikram close to the moon's surface, he said: "Your work is not in vain. It has laid the foundation for many more path breaking & ambitious Indian space missions."

The lander Vikram lost communication when it was just 2.1 km away from making a landing on the Moon's South Pole area.