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India set new records on Wednesday after successfully landing a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole. A lander with a rover inside touched down on the lunar surface at 6:04 pm, sparking cheers from across the country. India is also the fourth country to touch down on the moon and the first to reach the little explored South Pole.
Excited and anxious people across India crowded around televisions in offices, shops, restaurants and homes on Wednesday evening as ISRO began live streaming the final hour of the mission. Visuals shared by the space organisation also showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi keenly tracking the rover’s descent from South Africa.
“We have achieved soft landing on the moon. India is on the moon,” ISRO chief S Somanath exulted moments after the landing.
It assumes greater significance for ISRO scientists in light of the frustrating failure of its 2019 space bid. At the time, mission control had lost contact with the Chandrayaan-2 lunar module moments mere moments before its slated landing.
The lunar South Pole is unchartered territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water and precious elements. The six-wheeled lander and rover module of Chandrayaan-3 is configured with payloads that would provide data to the scientific community on the properties of lunar soil and rocks, including chemical and elemental compositions.
The landing of Chandrayaan 3 also comes mere days after a Russian probe crashed in the same region. Luna-25 failed due to an unspecified incident as it prepared to descend.
While India has a comparatively low-budget space programme, it has made great strides in recent years. It became the first Asian nation to put a craft into orbit around Mars in 2014, and is slated to launch a three-day crewed mission into Earth’s orbit by next year.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Updated: 24 Aug 2023, 06:34 AM IST
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