On Saturday, ISRO Chief Kailasavadivoo Sivan broke down in tears in front of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the space agency lost contact with its lunar rover, Vikram.
A video of Modi subsequently consoling Sivan by hugging him left several Indians teary-eyed, and elicited a strong reaction on social media.
Almost all Bollywood celebrities, sports stars, and political leaders came together in a spirit of unity and shared messages of support for the ISRO for putting “blood, sweat and tears into Chandrayaan 2”.
Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan reacted with poetic verses, quoting his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s famous lines for ISRO. He was joined by others.
Actor Akshay Kumar, who played a scientist in his recent film Mission Mangal, along with actress Tapsee Pannu shared an emotional message in an attempt to cheer the country's spirits.
The film community also heaped praise on the space agency.
Even though the failed moon landing was mocked by Pakistani social media users, Namira Salim, Pakistan's first female astronaut, congratulated India for its achievements in space.
“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," a Pakistani science magazine quoted Salim as saying.
Space agencies across the world including the US, Australia, UAE, Russia, and Europe have applauded ISRO, recognising the fact that the mission was challenging and “space is hard”.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the US took to twitter and said, “Space is hard. We commend ISRO’s attempt to land their #Chandrayaan2 mission on the Moon’s South Pole. You have inspired us with your journey and look forward to future opportunities to explore our solar system together.”