Chandrayaan-3 highlights: India becomes first country to land successfully near Moon's south pole

The rover will come out of the lander after about four hours of the landing, around 10.30 PM ( Indian Stanadard Time), subject to dust settling and all systems being in ideal condition

When we see such historic moments it makes us very proud. This is the dawn of new India," says PM Modi on the soft landing of ISRO's third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 on the moon

This moment is extra ordinary, says PM Modi

The altitude of the lander module is nearly 31 kms. The performance seems to be normal

20 mins away from power descent, says ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has confirmed that its Chandrayaan-3 lunar-landing mission is on track and the soft-landing will happen at 6:04pm IST on Wednesday (August 23). "All set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). Awaiting the arrival of Lander Module (LM) at the designated point, around 17:44 Hrs. IST. Upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates the throttleable engines for powered descent. The mission operations team will keep confirming the sequential execution of commands," ISRO tweeted. 

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Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri participated in the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib's special ardas for Chandrayaan-3's successful lunar landing.

"Special ardas taken place for the safe & successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, not just here but across the whole country, entire population praying for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3," said Union Minister Hardeep Puri, while speaking to news agency ANI.
 

ISRO CBPO former Director Dr P Venkitakrishnan, while speaking to Indian news media outlet, said, "Everything is going on smoothly. We don't expect any problem. People are talking about August 27, but that is a backup. The landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon will start around 5:47 pm and continue till 6:04 PM. Once it reaches 30 km near the Moon's South Pole, the descending process will begin." 

ISRO founder Vikram Sarabhai's son Kartikeya said on Wednesday that the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface would be a wonderful thing for humanity as no one has been able to land on the south side of the moon.

Speaking to the news agency ANI, Kartikeya said, "It's a fantastic thing if you think of it, that for anyone on the planet, not just for India, but to be able to send, this precision with which we have been able to send Chandrayaan-3 and also through a process which is quite different from the others."

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday that with the Chandrayaan-3 mission, India is set to script history today, adding, "The people believe that the country would write new chapters of success in the coming days."

ISRO took to X, formerly known as Twitter to inform about the initiation of the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) ahead of the soft-landing of Vikram lander. 

"All set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). Awaiting the arrival of Lander Module (LM) at the designated point, around 17:44 Hrs. IST. Upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates the throttleable engines for powered descent. The mission operations team will keep confirming the sequential execution of commands. The live telecast of operations at MOX begins at 17:20 Hrs. IST," the agency informed. 

Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to make it to space said Chandrayaan-3 will have a safe landing, knowing the way ISRO works. 

"I can proudly say that Chandrayaan 3 will have a safe landing," said Sharma. 

Kartikeya Sarabhai, the son of ISRO founder Vikram Sarabhai said the landing of Chandrayaan-3 will be a great thing for humanity. 

"In science and engineering, we learn from mistakes. It will be a great thing for humanity because no one has been able to land on the south side of the Moon," said Kartikeya.

Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams showed support to India's Chandrayaan-3 mission and said she will support it through and through. 

"I am super excited for Chandrayaan-3 on the 23rd of August. Good luck, we are cheering for you," said Williams. 

Onboard the Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram, the rover named 'Pragyaan' holds the mission to scrutinise the chemical composition of the moon's surface. It will search for water.

It is employed with laser beams which the rover will aim to melt a portion of the moon's surface known as regolith.

This will enable the analysis of the gases released during this procedure. This endeavor will help gain India an understanding of the lunar landscape and insights into its suitability for eventual human habitation. 
 

The young students at the state-run schools in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh will have the opportunity to watch live streaming of Chandrayaan 3 moon landing on Wednesday.

In a bid to implement this for the young minds, the UP administration has issued a directive for all government schools to make the live stream available from 5:15 pm to 6:15 pm. 

“Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that the moon landing by 'Chandrayaan-3's will be telecast live in all state-run schools in Uttar Pradesh. Schools will open specially for one hour in the evening for viewing,” ANI news agency reported.

As Chandrayaan-3 makes a historic moon-landing attempt, everyone is full of enthusiasm to watch its live broadcast. If you also want to witness India's momentous space mission, you can tune in to DD National TV. You can also tune in to WION to catch the live coverage.

The event will also be live-streamed on ISRO's official website at isro.gov.in. ISRO's YouTube channel and Facebook page will also live stream the event. 
 

As we know this is India's second attempted lunar landing, but in case anything goes awry or any factor regarding the lander module becomes problematic, then the landing will be shifted to August 27, said the Space Applications Centre-ISRO about Chandrayaan-3 on Monday. 

Nilesh M Desai, who is the director of Space Applications Centre-ISRO, Ahmedabad, said that the decision regarding the landing will be taken based on the health of the lander module and the conditions on the moon. 

As quoted by news agency PTI, Director Desai said: "On August 23, two hours before Chandrayaan-3 lands on the Moon, we will decide on whether or not it will be appropriate to land it at that time based on the health of the lander module and the conditions on the moon." 

"In case, if any factor appears to be not favourable, then we will land the module on the moon on August 27. No problem should occur and we will be able to land the module on August 23," Desai added. 

India is all set to become the first nation to land a spacecraft on the Moon's south pole. It has emerged as a historic moment for the world's most populous nation and its rapidly growing space sector. 

If all goes well, India will become the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat after the United States, USSR, and China. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to virtually join the event from South Africa, where he is currently participating in the ongoing 15th BRICS summit. Chandrayaan-3 holds immense significance as it strives to achieve a soft landing on the moon's south pole and the participation of PM Modi, even virtually, underscores the national importance of this historic endeavor.