Chandrayaan-3 is success: A soft landing for Vikram lander, giant leap for India's space odyssey
Chandrayaan 3 space mission
The Vikram lander of India's Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission achieved a safe soft-landing on the south pole of the Moon on Wednesday (Aug 23) evening at its scheduled time of 6:04 PM (Indian Standard Time). The Chandrayaan-3 space mission's historic success has made India the first country in the world to land a spacecraft on Moon's south pole, and fourth country to land on Moon overall.
With Vikram lander on the Moon, the rover Pragyan will wait for the lunar dust to settle before beginning to traverse the lunar terrain with its rear wheels which will leave the imprints of ISRO and India's national emblem on lunar surface. For the world's most populous nation, a wave of anticipation that swept through its length and breadthsince July 14 has achieved a glorious first conclusion.
"Some moments during the journey of a nation end up becoming the sign of itsimmortal consciousness. This is one such moment when we crossed the ocean of difficulties to walk on the victorious path of lunar surface," Modi said.
"It belongs to all of humanity," he added.
The description of Chandrayaan-3 space mission's Vikram Lander making a small bounce on lunar surface during its moments of achieving the soft landing on usually dark southern pole of Moon make it the finest moment of India's space programme till date.
Millions of Indians at home and abroad huddled around screens on Televisions, computers and smartphones as the world's fifth largest economy flexed its space muscles, stamping its name among the exceptional few of the world.
University auditoria across India were filled with youngsters witnessing the great heights achieved by their country's space programme.
The festivities swept through the nation, as sweets became the staple of celebration, tears became expressions of joy,and sound of crackers marked the historic moment forover a billion Indians.
"This will fuel our passion for advancing space research and technology, and we eagerly anticipate the valuable insights this mission will contribute to our understanding of the lunar surface," said Dr Sanat K Biswas, Assistant Professor of Space Systems Laboratory at New Delhi's Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology,where a wave of tearful joy erupted across anauditorium as youngsters witnessed a moment for history books.
Students at Indraprastha Institute of Information Technologywatched live as Vikram Lander of India's Chandrayaan- 3 space mission achieved safe landing on lunar surface
The institute was one among thousands across India that livestreamed the lunar landing on August 23.
The humble beginnings of India's space odyssey, symbolised within the image of the nose cone of an Indian rocket being transported on a bicycle to a launch site in Thumba in southern India's Kerala state in the 1970s, have now leapt into the aspirations of India's space scientists to simply reach for the stars.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched into space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh state's Sriharikota on July 14, 2023.
The missionorbited Earth several times to build up the necessary speed for its journey.
After Wednesday’s successful landing, rover Pragyan will now explore the surface of the relatively unmapped lunar south pole and transmit data to Earth over its two-week lifespan.
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