Following the live telecast of the Vikram lander’s successful moon landing, President Droupadi Murmu expressed her warm congratulations to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and all individuals associated with the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Taking to Twitter, President Murmu shared her heartfelt sentiments.
“There are days when history is made. Today, with the successful moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, our scientists have not only made history, but also remade the idea of geography! It is truly a momentous occasion, the kind of event that happens once in a lifetime, making all Indians proud. I congratulate ISRO and everybody involved in this mission, and wish them greater accomplishments ahead,” President Murmu’s tweet read.
Highlighting the significance of the achievement, President Murmu added, “The success of Chandrayaan, I believe, is also a major achievement for the whole of humankind. It shows how India has harnessed its rich traditional knowledge base along with modern science in the service of humanity.”
India’s achievement of landing a spacecraft on the moon’s south pole positions the nation as the fourth globally—following the US, China, and Russia—to successfully accomplish such a feat. Moreover, India takes its place in the record books as the first to achieve a lunar touchdown on the moon’s southern hemisphere.
The successful landing, which occurred days after a Russian probe’s crash in the same region, is a testament to India’s technological prowess and innovative capabilities. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft skillfully executed its descent, positioning the Vikram lander on the lunar surface in a horizontal tilt ahead of the landing.
Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, he managed to witness the live telecast. As the touchdown was confirmed, Prime Minister Modi beamed with pride and waved the tricolour, symbolizing India’s achievement.
ISRO’s meticulous efforts included releasing a series of close-up images of the moon to assist the lander module in accurately determining its position by matching them with an onboard moon reference map. The journey commenced on July 14 when the spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota.
The successful launch was facilitated by the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle. Chandrayaan-3 was placed into lunar orbit on August 5, followed by a series of carefully executed orbital manoeuvres that gradually lowered the spacecraft closer to the moon’s surface. Throughout the mission, ISRO consistently emphasized the spacecraft’s “normal” health.
The accomplishments of Chandrayaan-3, particularly its ability to integrate traditional knowledge with modern science, underscore India’s growing significance in the realm of space exploration, further elevating its global reputation in space technology and innovation.
