In a mission critical to lunar exploration and India’s status as a space power, an Indian spacecraft touched down on the moon’s craggy, unexplored south pole on Wednesday, just days after a similar Russian lander crashed.
“This moment is unforgettable. It is phenomenal. This is a victory cry of a new India,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who waved the Indian flag as he watched the landing from South Africa, where he is attending a BRICS summit.
As the spaceship touched down, scientists and officials clapped, cheered, and hugged one another. People all over India then erupted in excitement, lighting firecrackers and dancing in the streets.
- Somanath, head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), declared, “India is on the moon,” as the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft touched down, making India the fourth country after the United States, China, and Russia to accomplish this feat.
The eagerly anticipated Chandrayaan-3 moon mission will lift off on July 14, 2023. The only three nations to have accomplished soft landings on the moon are the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.
Less than a week after Russia’s Luna-25 mission failed, this mission was India’s second attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon. As the spaceship reached the surface, viewers across the nation prayed while glued to their televisions.
The YouTube live feed attracted close to 7 million viewers.
In Hindi and Sanskrit, Chandrayaan is translated as “moon vehicle.” The orbiter on ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019 was successfully launched, but the lander collapsed.
Roskosmos, the Russian space agency, congratulated India on the landing. Roskosmos posted a message on its Telegram channel saying, “Roskosmos congratulates Indian colleagues on the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft.”
“Moon exploration is crucial for all of humanity. It might eventually serve as a platform for deep space exploration.
In a video clip posted by the Russian foreign ministry, Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, congratulated his Indian counterpart during their bilateral meeting at the BRICS conference.
The Chandrayaan-3 will continue operating for another two weeks while conducting several experiments, including a spectrometer investigation of the lunar surface’s mineral makeup.
Somanath told reporters that it would take a few hours or a day for the moon rover to exit the spaceship and that the landing has given India the confidence to expand its reach to potential trips to Mars and Venus.
According to Somanath, India also intends to launch a mission in September to investigate the sun. Although no specific date has been set, preparations for a human space voyage should be completed by 2024.
The landing is anticipated to improve India’s reputation for space engineering, which is competitively priced. With a budget of roughly 6.15 billion rupees ($74 million), the Chandrayaan-3 was launched with less money than it would have taken to make the 2013 Hollywood space thriller “Gravity.”
A landing at the South Pole is challenging because of the rough terrain, and a first touchdown is significant. The ice in the area could provide future expeditions with water, oxygen, and fuel.
“India might investigate whether there is water ice on the moon by landing at the south pole. Carla Filotico, a partner and managing director of consultancy SpaceTec Partners, said that this is crucial for accumulating data and scientific knowledge about the moon’s geology.
The eagerly anticipated Chandrayaan-3 moon mission will lift off on July 14, 2023. The only three nations to have accomplished soft landings on the moon are the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.
There was intense anticipation leading up to the landing, and television stations and newspaper headlines in India ran countdowns.
As they awaited live broadcasts of the landing, schoolchildren waved the Indian tricolor, and prayers were said at places of worship nationwide.
Hindus consider the Ganga River sacred, and children gathered there to pray for a safe landing. Mosques also held prayers.
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also prayed at a gurudwara, a Sikh shrine in the nation’s capital, New Delhi.
India is making scientific and technological advancements in addition to economic advancements, Puri told reporters.
