PM Modi at ISRO Headquarters to Pull All-Nighter, Will Witness Chandrayaan 2 Landing With 70 Students

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru to witness the historic landing of the Chandrayaan-2 mission in the early hours of Saturday.

Modi touched down in Bengaluru late on Friday and was received at the airport by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, Union ministers DV Sadanand Gowda and Pralhad Joshi, as well as ministers of the Karnataka Cabinet and other officials.

"Modi landed at the Yelahanka base of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on the city's northern outskirts at 9.40 pm for an overnight stay at a hotel, which is near the space agency's network centre, to witness Vikram's landing on the moon between 1.30 am-2.30 am," an official told IANS.

City Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun and the ruling BJP's state unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel were among those who welcomed Modi on his first visit to the city after the Lok Sabha elections.

"Modi will drive to the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (Istrac) in the Peenya industrial area of the city's northwest suburb by 1 am and return to the hotel after watching the landing by 3 am for rest," the official added.

Modi will also interact with about 70 students from across the country at the network centre after the lunar lander Vikram's landing and address them. He will leave Bengaluru from the air base around 9 am on Saturday.

Earlier on Friday, Modi expressed his excitement at the extraordinary moment in the history of India’s space programme and urged people across the country to watch the space feat.

"The moment 130 crore Indians were enthusiastically waiting for is here! In a few hours from now, the final descent of Chandrayaan - 2 will take place on the Lunar South Pole. India, and the rest of the world will yet again see the exemplary prowess of our space scientists," he tweeted.