India has created history as Chandrayaan 3’s lander, with a rover accommodated inside it, touched down on the surface of the Moon on the evening of Wednesday, August 23.
As celebrations erupted across India upon the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan 3, ISRO in a tweet said, “India, I reached my destination and you too!’: Chandrayaan-3. Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon! Congratulations, India!”
The touchdown took place at 6.04 pm amid huge cheers in the war room of space agency ISRO.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the nation in celebration of the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Vikram lander touching down on the Moon successfully. No other country has been able to land on this side of the moon before; this will change all narratives and stories about the Moon, he said. He further said: “This moment is precious and unprecedented. This moment announces the victory of new India. This moment is the strength of 1.4 billion heartbeats”.
Additionally, addressing the media, ISRO chief S Somanath said that Chandrayaan-3’s Pragyan rover will come out of the lander next. “Looking forward to the exciting 14 days ahead. This is the beginning of the golden era,” he said. He said that India’s Moon mission was a journey the space agency started with Chandrayaan-1 and will continue after Chandrayaan-3.