Chandrayaan-3 soft-landing on Moon | Live coverage of ISRO’s lunar exploration mission

August 23, 2023
India Science Technology

New Delhi: India has achieved a momentous milestone with the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the southern pole of the moon. The Vikram lander executed a gentle touchdown at 6.04 PM IST on August 23, marking a historic event.

This accomplishment established India as the fourth nation to perform a controlled landing on the moon, following the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union. However, India became the first country to land on the South side of the moon, where traces of water were detected.

As the touchdown took place on the lunar surface, the Mission Operations Complex of ISRO in Bengaluru erupted with joy and applause from the people who dedicated their time and effort to the success of the mission.

Prime Minister Modi joined the event online from South Africa to witness the landing of the Vikram lander. After the successful touchdown, ISRO Chief S Somanath said, “We have achieved a soft landing on the moon. India is on the Moon.”

The Prime Minister, addressing the team as family members, said that such historic events become the eternal consciousness of a nation. “This moment is unforgettable, unprecedented. It is the moment of the clarion call of ‘Viksit Bharat’, a victory call for India, this is a moment of crossing the ocean of difficulties and walking on the ‘Chandrapath’ of victory. This is a moment of the capability of the 140 crore heartbeats and the confidence of the new energy of India. This is a moment of invoking the rising fortune of India”, the Prime Minister told a jubilant nation. “In the first light of ‘Amrit Kaal’ this is ‘Amrit Varsha’ of success”, a visibly elated Prime Minister added. The Prime Minister quoted the scientists and said, “India is now on the moon!” He stated that we have just witnessed the first flight of the new India.

The Prime Minister informed that he is currently in Johannesburg attending the BRICS Summit but his mind was also focussed on Chandrayaan 3 like every other citizen. He said that every Indian has immersed themselves in celebration and it is a day of festivity for every family as he is connected with every citizen with enthusiasm on this special occasion. The Prime Minister congratulated Team Chandrayaan, ISRO and all the scientists of the country who have worked tirelessly for years and also congratulated the 140 crore countrymen for this wonderful moment filled with enthusiasm, joy and emotion!

“India has reached the South Pole of the Moon where no country in the world could reach to date with the dedication and talent of our scientists”, the Prime Minister remarked. He underlined that all the myths and stories related to the Moon will now change and the proverbs will find a new meaning for the new generation. Referring to the Indian folklore where the Earth is considered ‘Maa’ and the Moon, ‘Mama’, the Prime Minister said that the Moon is also considered very distant and referred to as ‘Chanda Mama dur ke’, but the time is not far when the children would say ‘Chanda Mama ek tour ke’ i.e. the moon is only a tour away.

As soon as the landing take place the Prime Minister also made a telephone call to the ISRO chief, over Chandrayaan success.

After watching live telecast of moon landing of Vikram Lander, the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu conveyed her congratulatory message to ISRO and everyone associated with Chandrayaan-3 mission.

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The Vice President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar also conveyed his heartiest congratulations to ISRO & all fellow Indians on successful landing of Chandrayaan -3 on the southern pole of the Moon through a series of tweets.

 

The 14th NASA Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Bill Nelson, also took to Twitter to congratulate the fellow ISRO for its success, saying, “Congratulations ISRO on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing! And congratulations to #India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We’re glad to be your partner on this mission!”

Talking about the historical event former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayan says, ” What we have achieved is unbelievable. Every failure of Chandrayaan-2 was addressed and rectified, and its failure was used in our favour. We have done a wonderful job and that is why before its landing it was said that it would be a success.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated India on the successful Moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

“Please, accept my heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the successful landing of the Indian space station Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon near its South Pole. This is a big step forward in space exploration and certainly a testament to the impressive progress made by India in the area of science and technology. Kindly convey my sincere congratulations and best wishes for new achievements to the leadership and staff of the Indian Space Research Organisation,” the Russian President said.

The Space Agency of the United Arab Emirates also conveyed its congratulations to ISRO for the achievement of Chandrayaan-3. “Congratulations to India and the remarkable team at @ISRO for reaching a historic milestone with the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 at the Moon’s south pole, the UAE Space Agency tweeted.

In tweet congratulating the ISRO for the success, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar wrote, ISRO represents the best of India. Humble, hardworking women & men, coming together, overcoming challenges, and making our tricolour fly high…

On the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the moon, actor Anupam Kher said, “There has been no moment in my life happier than this. We used to sing in childhood, ‘Chanda mama door ke’, but it is no longer far away. I bow down and salute the nation today, I especially salute the ISRO scientists as their success is achieved… This is history… Can you imagine an Indian walking on earth anywhere today and people looking at him and saying, ‘Look that’s an Indian’. We’re the first nation that has reached the South Pole. We’re the first people who landed there.”

One twitter user wrote that “I still have that image in mind of Sivan crying. He was there too. Chandrayaan 3 is such a super example of inverting the problem and succeeding.” talking about the moment after the Chandrayaan 2’s lander had missed the landing. Former ISRO chief Sivan was watching the soft landing today at ISRO.

One user took to twitter and pointed out that ISRO Chief Somanath sir made Chandrayaan 3 landing successful. Not surprised because “Somanath” literally means Lord of the Moon.

“An absolutely Momentous achievement for India !! #Chandrayaan3 registers an unprecedented and spectacular success!!! History is Made today!! I join over a Billion proud Indians in celebrating and congratulating our Indian scientific community !! This clearly paves the way for more invaluable discoveries on the Moon and more scientific missions in days to come. Hopefully a Holiday on Moon may not be far off”, wrote Actor Chiranjeevi Konidela on twitter.

Live Updates

8:17 pm – The communication link is established between the Ch-3 Lander and MOX-ISTRAC, Bengaluru, ISRO tweeted with the the images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent.

6:05 pm – PM Modi addresses the nation after Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on the surface of the Moon.

6:04: – Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon. We have achieved soft landing on moon. India is on the Moon: ISRO Chief S Somanath

5:51 pm – Chandrayaan-3 lander module Vikram to soon hover 150 metres above the lunar surface; altitude decreasing continuously

5:59 pm – Chandrayaan-3 lander module enters vertical descent phase; module approaching the lunar surface

5:57 pm:Chandrayaan-3 in Fine Braking state at an altitude of 1.9 km from the Moon’s surface

5:55 pm – Chandrayaan-3 lander module is at an altitude of 5.o36km from the Moon’s surface, says ISRO

Prime Minister Narendra Modi joins ISRO scientists through video link ahead of Chandrayaan’s landing on moon

5:52 pm – Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram’s altitude is decreasing after the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) was initiated and the power descent phase is on. No ground intervention in the descent of the lander module after initiation of Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS)

5:49 pm – The preparation for today’s event started 48 hours ago, according to ISRO. The vertical velocity of the lander module is continuously decreasing. Image

5:44 pm – Vikram lander begins powered descent to Moon’s South Pole, touchdown soon

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5:41 pm – Minutes away from the start of power descent. The entire power descent will be carried out by the onboard autonomous landing sequencer, say ISRO

5:30 pm – Union Minister Jitendra Singh is at the CSIR Headquarters in Delhi to watch the live stream of the Moon landing

 

#chandrayaan #isro #moon mission

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