NDTV NEWS
New Delhi: India’s moon mission Chandrayaan-3 has made a successful soft landing near the moon’s South Pole, bringing cheer to a billion hearts and propelling India to the elite space club.
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Here are top 10 points on this big story:
- India has become the first nation to land near the South Pole, which is the hot new destination since traces of water was found on moon.
- The touchdown took place at 6.04 pm amid huge cheers in the war room of space agency ISRO. Social media was flooded by congratulatory messages.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who joined in the event online from South Africa, where he is attending the BRICS Summit, 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”.
- “India reached the uncharted lunar South Pole because of our scientists’ hard work and talent… Our moon mission is also based on the human-centric approach, which is why the success belongs to all humanity. It will help moon missions by the other countries in the future,” he added.
- For the next 14 days — equivalent to one moon day — the Pragyan Rover will send images and data from the surface of the moon. After 14 days, its activity is likely to slow down, given that it is powered by solar cells.
- The landing was preceded by a number of subtle maneuverings. The Vikram, which was powered by four engines, will cut off two to lose speed over the last 30 km and achieve the tricky soft landing.
- The successful landing has kicked up a lot of fine dust. The rover Pragyan will roll out only when the dust has moved away. Unlike Earth, the dust will not settle in moon, given its lower gravitation.
- The event is being telecast live across the country – the ISRO website, YouTube channel and DD National will air live feed from 5.20 pm. Schools are open and space enthusiasts are organising parties in anticipation of the historic moment.
- The moon lander was launched on July 14, perched on a LVM 3 heavy-lift launch vehicle. It was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5. The lander Vikram is named after Vikram Sarabhai, who is widely regarded as the father of the Indian space programme.
- After the moon mission, ISRO has a number of projects lined up – one of them a mission to study the Sun, and a human space flight programme, Gaganyaan. Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is getting ready for the launch, most likely in the first week of September.
