India conquers the Moon- Chandrayaan-3 lands successfully near the moon’s south pole in historic first

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: India has reached where no nation has gone before. In a giant leap for its space programme, India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.

With this touchdown on Moon to script history after a flawless 41-day voyage and less than a week after a Russian lander headed to the lunar south pole crashed, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the moon after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.

But no country has ever landed a rover on the treacherous south pole that scientists believe could hold important reserves of frozen water and precious elements.

Taking a billion dreams to the Moon in India's second attempt in four years, Chandrayaan-3's fourlegged lander Vikram with the 26- kg rover Pragyan in its belly, made the soft landing near the south polar region of the moon as per plans successfully negotiating what Isro scientists described as the "20 minutes of terror" during the powered descent initiated at 5.44 pm.

PM Modi hails Chandrayaan-3 landing as 'new flight of new India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is now on the Moon and the success belongs to all humanity.

Addressing ISRO scientists virtually from Johannesburg where he is attending the BRICS summit, Modi said India made a resolve "on the Earth and fulfilled it on the Moon".

"This is a moment to cherish forever." "India is now on the Moon and now is the time to walk on the 'Chandra Path'," the prime minister said.

"We are witness to the new flight of new India. New history has been written, he said.

TIP BY KALAM HELPED INDIA'S 1ST MOON MISSION

When India's first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1, was being assembled in 2008, the then President APJ Abdul Kalam visited the Isro.

Kalam was somewhat disappointed when the scientists told him that the mission would only be an orbiter. He asked if there was any way that India could make its mark on the lunar surface.

The scientists explained that they could attach a small impactor to the orbiter that would crash into the Moon.

Kalam liked this idea and instructed Isro to make the necessary design changes. The impactor, called the Moon Impact Probe (MIP), was launched on November 8, 2008, and it crashed into the Moon on November 14, 2008.

The MIP was the first time that India had successfully landed a spacecraft on the Moon. The impact also created a crater on the Moon that was named after Kalam. 

Congress credits 'Nehru's vision

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel lauded the significance of this feat, crediting India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's vision.

"Jo Aadharshila Nehru Ji ne rakha, aaj world mein danka baja raha hai (Nehru Ji's visionary foundation stone is now resounding globally)," he said.

The opposition party said an elated nation with 140 crore aspirations today witnessed yet another achievement in its six-decade-long space programme.

Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said, "ISRO's accomplishments have always been anchored in self-reliance. They reflect phenomenal team work, partnerships and enterprise. The entire world is looking up to ISRO today, acknowledging its achievements, and for us Indians, it is a matter of special pride," Ramesh said.