…Chandrayaan-3 rover takes ‘walk on moon’ as India celebrates historic feat
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday made space history as Chandrayaan-3 landed successfully as the first-ever to land on the Moon’s South Pole a few days after Russia’s South Pole Moon landing mission crashed.
However, It marks a momentous 24 hours for India, which was left devastated by the failure of the mission’s predecessor, Chandrayaan-2, in 2019.
Although India is the fourth country after the US, Russia and China to safely land a craft on the moon, India made history as the first to land on the moon’s south.
…Candrayaan means “moon vehicle” in Hindi and Sanskrit.
India Jubilate the Moon Landing Achievements
The director general of the Indian Space Association Ani Kumar Bhatt Says the landing is a historic and special moment for everyone in India.
“More than a million hearts were beating louder and faster, waiting in the very critical last 20 minutes of the lander coming down,”
“There is jubilation all around. I’m here in a college near Delhi, and my God, the excitement is remarkable. It’s like we won a World Cup match,” he said.
However, The Indian leader Rahul Gandhi on his Twitter (X) account hailed the moon landing and praised scientists.
He said the moon landing was a result of “tremendous ingenuity and hard work” by the country’s scientific community.
“Since 1962, India’s space program has continued to scale new heights and inspire generations of young dreamers,”
The chief justice of India also said the moon landing would lead to “new avenues” in scientific research and discovery.
“The success of the lunar mission places India in a select group of nations to successfully achieve a landing on the lunar surface,” DY Chandrachud said. “This represents a milestone in the march of the nation.”
World leader congratulates India
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated India for an “impressive” achievement of landing its probe on the moon, days after Moscow’s mission crashed.
Putin sent his “heartfelt congratulations” to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi according to the Kremlin’s website.
“This is a big step forward in space exploration and, of course, a testament to the impressive progress made by India in the field of science and technology,” the Kremlin statement read.
However, Russia’s space agency Roskosmos in a post on its Telegram channel also hailed India for the moon landing.
“Roskosmos congratulates Indian colleagues on the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft,”
“Exploration of the moon is important for all mankind. In the future, it may become a platform for deep space exploring”
‘Power the imagination’
The US Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs on its official Twitter X account has said Chandrayaan-3’s success will “power” the future.
“Your success will power the imagination and light the future of people around the world
Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, on his Twitter X handle, has joined other world leaders in hailing India’s successful moon landing.
“India continues to make history,” he said.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated India on the historic moon landing, described it as a ‘momentous’ occasion
“This for us, as the BRICS family, is a momentous occasion and we rejoice with you. We join you in the joy of this great achievement,” he said.
Also, Carla Filotico, a partner and managing director at consultancy SpaceTec Partners, said the landing would allow India to explore whether there was ice water on the moon.
“This is very important for cumulative data and science on the geology of the moon,” she said, according to the Reuters news agency.
Chandrayaan-3 rover takes ‘walk on moon’ as India celebrates historic feat
Rover exited the spacecraft a day after its first-ever landing near the moon’s south pole to begin exploration of the lunar surface, India’s space agency says.
The Indian space agency on its official Twitter X account said the moon rover of India’s Chandrayaan-3 has exited the spacecraft to begin its exploration of the lunar surface.
The spacecraft landed on the unexplored south pole of the moon on Wednesday evening, days after Russia’s Luna-25 failed, making India the first country to achieve that feat.
“The Ch-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander and India took a walk on the moon!” the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in its message on Thursday morning.
IdanNews gathered that the six-wheeled, solar-powered rover, named Pragyan (or “wisdom” in Sanskrit) will amble around the relatively unmapped region and transmit images and scientific data over its two-week lifespan.
According to Al-Jazeera, Indians accomplished this with a budget of about 6.15bn Indian rupees ($74.58m), this was India’s second attempt to touch down on the moon. A previous mission in 2019, Chandrayaan-2, successfully deployed an orbiter but its lander crashed.
The moon’s rugged south pole is covered because of its water ice, which is believed to be capable of providing fuel, oxygen and drinking water for future missions, but its rough terrain makes landing challenging.
People across the country tuned in to watch the landing on Wednesday, with more than seven million people viewing the YouTube livestream.
Prayers were also held at places of worship, and schools organized live screenings of the spectacle for students.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, said that the successful lunar landing – previously achieved only by the United States, Russia and China – was a triumph for “all of humanity”.
India has a comparatively low-budget space programme, but one that has grown considerably in size and momentum since it first sent a probe to orbit the moon in 2008.
Chandrayaan-3’s cost was far lower than many missions from other countries and a testament to India’s frugal space engineering.
In 2014, India became the first Asian nation to put a craft into orbit around Mars and plans to send a probe towards the sun in September.
ISRO is slated to launch a three-day crewed mission into Earth’s orbit by next year.
It also plans a joint mission with Japan to send another probe to the Moon by 2025 and an orbital mission to Venus within the next two years.
