Chandrayaan-3 Landing: India on Wednesday created history after its Moon Mission, the Chandrayaan-3, landed on the lunar surface. With this, India became the first country to land on the south pole of the Moon. Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota on July 14 targeting a soft landing on the Moon.
#WATCH | Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 makes soft-landing on the moon pic.twitter.com/vf4CUPYrsE
— ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2023
"This is a historic move for India, this moment is a step towards Viksit Bharat and is a step towards a new India," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as soon the Chandrayaan 3 successfully made its soft launch on the moon.
"No country has reached there (the South Pole of the moon) before. With the hard work of our scientists we have reached there," PM Modi said.
Following the successful launch ISRO chief S Somanath on Wednesday congratulated the people of the country on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and said, "Indian is on the moon".
"India is on the Moon", S Somanath said as Chandrayaan-3 lander module Vikram made a safe and soft landing on the Moon.
Officials at India's space agency ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru broke into applause after the Vikram began its powered vertical descent towards its landing site.
Special screenings of the soft landing were organized across the country, including schools and science centers, and public institutions. ISRO made the live actions available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV.
The lunar south pole was chosen as the landing site as it has a presence of water and ice inside shadowed craters. Following the Chandrayaan 3 landing, the Vikram lander will provide in-depth information on the composition of the moon's surface, the presence of water ice in the lunar soil, the history of lunar impacts and how the moon's atmosphere has evolved over time.