Pak ex-minister praises Chandrayaan-3 mission, had taken jibes on Indian lunar mission in 2019

Years after taking a jibe at India's lunar ambitions in 2019, Pakistan's former Minister of Science and Technology, Fawad Hussain Chaudhry, has now done an unexpected about-face. In a Tuesday (August 22) poston X, formerly Twitter, the former minister lauded the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3, terming it a "historic moment for humankind."

"Pak media should show #Chandrayan moon landing live tomorrow at 6:15 PM… historic moment for Human kind specially for the people, scientists and Space community of India…. Many Congratulations," Hussain said on X.

This is a surprising twist, considering the fact that Chaudhry is the same minister who had taunted India with the hashtag "India Failed" following ISRO's unfortunate loss of contact with the Vikram lander during the previousunsuccessful mission.

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Also Read | India's Chandrayaan-3 to make historic attempt at moon landing today

Notably, in September2019, he penned several posts on Xwith the hashtag "#IndiaFailed."

The former minister had made a series of vile comments targeting and taunting India. His vitriolic comments also targeted the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Bollywood, India's cultural sentiments, andIndian Air Force fighter pilotAbhinandan Varthaman who downed Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets in February 2019.

Change of heart?

Now the minister, who is well-known for his insulting remarks towards India, is urging his country to witness the live broadcast of Chandrayaan-3's moon landing on Wednesday evening. His tone has shifted from taunts to admiration.

Also Read | Chandrayaan-3 soft-landing will offer basic tech for landing missions to other planets

This chapter in India's lunar exploration commenced on July 14 with a triumphant launch of Chandrayaan-3 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.After gracefully entering the lunar orbit on August 5, the spacecraft is poised to execute a soft landing on the moon's surface on August 23.

A pinnacle moment awaits

Scheduled for a touchdown at 6:04 pm on Wednesday, the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module is diligently scouting for an ideal landing spot on the lunar landscape. As per ISRO, everything till now has been going as per the plan and the lunar mission holds the promise of turning into an epochal event.

Onboard the Chandrayaan-3 are LanderVikram and a rover named 'Pragyaan'.

WATCH | Decoding Chandrayaan-3 landing: 'If problem arises, landing could be delayed'

The rover isemployed with laser beams which it will use 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 endeavour will help gain India an understanding of the lunar landscape and insights into its suitability for eventual human habitation.Upon successful landing, Chandrayaan-3 is poised to operate for a fortnight, embarking on a series of experiments.

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