It is unfair to describe the "Chandrayaan Mission"as a failure as technologically the launch was successful, Union Minister ofState for Departmentof Space Jitendra Singh said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.The setback in the landing, he said, has only made India's resolve stronger andcosts will also be cut in future missions.Replying to a suppelementary in theUpper House during Question Hour, Singh said even advanced nations like the US,which started their space mission much earlier, could gain success in softlanding only in the eight attempt. "Chandrayaan was a mission watchedkeenly by all Indians. There was some disappointment but it would be unfair todescribe it as a failure...Technologically the launch was successful. Entryinto the earth's orbit was successful. Then entry into the lunar orbit wassuccessful. Orbiter is very much there...In the subsequent attempt this willcut down on the cost as well because the lander is also there," he said.Hesaid the Orbiter has functioned normally and only in the last about 30 kms"this incident took place, which I would not describe as a failure. Thishas made us wiser. The setback to the landing has only made India's resolvestronger."

Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "Despitesetbacks in landing we must remember that Chandrayaan had quite a successfuljourney uptil now." Scientific objectives were accomplished including moonsurface mapping, topographical studies, radar based studies etc, he said.

Singh pointed out that soft landing could not be a successas in sceintific pursuits like this sometimes it is a matter of proceduralmethod and processes. He said there is not a single country which has been ableto successfuly accomplish softlanding in less than two attempts.

"And so much so that the United States of America whichstarted its space journey much much before us, many years before us when wewere still singing the nursery rhyme 'Chanda Mama'...Even United States couldmanage soft landing only in eighth attempt. But we having learnt from theexpereince of other nations," he said.

He said the data received from the Orbiter is being providedconstinuously to the sceintific community. In resposne to a query whether thelaunch was made to

corelate with 100 days of Modi 2, Singh said the chronologyand events of launch are designed through astronomical ways.