'Moonwalk' for Ranchi students at Isro HQ

RANCHI: Millions of Indians across the country and people around the globe remained glued to their TV sets with baited breath early on Saturday to watch the Vikram lander of India's Chandrayaan 2 head for the moon. Seconds before the lander reaches the surface of the earth's only satellite, or precisely 2.1km away, the ground control lost contact with it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the live action from Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru. Along with him are two school students from Ranchi who were among the 60 selected students from across the country and invited by Isro to witness the historic moment.
Talking to TOI over the phone from Bengaluru on Saturday, Pranav Parashar, a Class X student of DPS Ranchi, said, "I was excited to witness the Vikram flight right from the Isro headquarters. I remember everyone celebrating after the rough breaking was completed successfully. But soon, all did not look good as the scientists started discussing things among themselves. It was a tense and emotional moment for all of us there. I can only imagine what the Isro scientists were going through."
The Vikram lander's powered descent was supposed to last 15 minutes, which Isro chief K Sivan hadescribed it as "15 minutes of terror", and all Indians were praying for a safe landing. However, after the contact was lost, Sivan only said the data is being analysed.
Recounting the moments, Parashar added, "It was a very tense situation. Everyone was celebrating and in the next minute, it felt like time stopped. The mission was 95% success, but disappointment writ large on the faces of everyone there."
His counterpart, Mridula Kumari of Class IX, St Thomsas School, who also watched the live action, told TOI that their trip around Isro planned for Saturday did not happen after the unprecedented last-minute hiccup in the mission. "Almost every scientist broke down within a few minutes. Everyone was teary-eyed and it was absolutely heartbreaking. I kept praying that contact with the Vikram lander is re-established, but it didn't turn out to be the case," Kumari said.
On asked whether the Isro experience will have any impact on her career choices, Kumari said: "I want to be a medico, but honestly speaking, I might now consider taking up a career in astronomy. My interest has been spiked with the experience and I will decide when the time comes."
Parashar said, "I will pursue engineering and expand my area of work to astronomy. I already had considerable interest and I will like to be a part of something as grand as Chandrayan-2 someday."
Both Parashar and Kumari were selected to be a part of the programme after they were selected through an online quiz conducted by Isro in August.