Firstpost Editor's Picks: Chandrayaan 2, US Open 2019, Mammootty turns 68; today's must-read stories

Chandrayaan 2: From showcasing space capabilities to providing indelible images, why ISRO’s project is far from a failure The Chandrayaan 2 project has successfully completed two specific and one unexpected tasks. Two, it has showcased the increasing sophistication of India’s space capabilities and three, the apparent failure to place a rover on the Moon’s polar surface has thrown up an unexpected moment of inspiring leadership: from the ISRO chief K Sivan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While India slept, Narendra Modi was back at ISRO chinning up the disconsolate ISRO scientists who had pulled an all-nighter, and when he gave his 56-inch chest to Chairman Sivan to lean on in an impulsive gesture of warmth and belief that went on for a minute, he literally hugged the whole nation and deflected so beautifully the sense of dismay, literally turning a moment of great sadness into one of tangible hope. US Open 2019: Serena Williams versus Bianca Andreescu in women’s final will pit power against guile, experience against youth It’s not a secret anymore; Serena Williams has developed the very human habit of becoming nervous in Grand Slam finals.