In a giant leap for its space programme, India's Chandrayaan-3 touched down on Moon's South Pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday.
With this milestone, India proudly becomes the first nation to accomplish the remarkable feat of landing a spacecraft on the Lunar South Pole. Chandrayaan-3 mission highlights India's technological advancement in space exploration, drawing global attention for its ambitious and pioneering spirit.
ISRO scientists and officials clapped, cheered and hugged each other as the spacecraft landed and as the government now looks to spur investment in private space launches and related satellite-based businesses.
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"This is a victory cry of a new India," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was seen waving the Indian flag as he watched the landing from South Africa, where he is attending the BRICS summit.
Exploration of the Lunar South Pole holds vast potential for scientific discoveries and resource exploration, unraveling mysteries of the Moon's history. ISRO's accomplishment sets the stage for future space endeavours, sparking interest in sustained lunar presence and expanded scientific research.
At 5:45 pm IST, the Vikram lander started its decent towards the lunar surface at a speed of 6000km/h, twice the speed of sound, after ISRO initiated the automatic landing sequence on the vehicle. At 6:04 PM, The Vikram lander made a touch down on the South Pole of the Moon creating history.
PM Modi also praised the scientists of ISRO and said that they have done a commendable job. He also said that ISRO is definitely ready for Gaganyaan. He highlighted that ISRO has taught the world that one should never give up and how you should get up succeed after failing
In next 4 hours, approximately at 10 pm, Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander will open its shutters to release the Pragyan Rover, which will then start its research phase of the Moon’s South Pole and send the pictures of Lunar South Pole back to Earth.
"India is on the moon," said S Somanath, chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed on the Lunar South Pole.