New Delhi: At 6.04 pm Wednesday, India made history, becoming the fourth country in the world to successfully soft land on the Moon. And with its Chandrayaan-3 mission landing on the Moon’s south pole, India also became the first country in the world to reach that region.
The mission, which was launched on 14 July, 2023, reached the moon carrying six payloads in its propulsion module, Vikram lander and Pragyaan rover.
At 5.58 pm, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) live screening virtually from Johannesburg, South Africa, and stayed on to congratulate the team after its success.
“India is on the Moon, Prime Minister,” said S. Somanath, chairman of ISRO, amid cheers and applause by his fellow scientists, before inviting PM Narendra Modi to address them on the occasion of the success.
“When we see history unfolding in front of our eyes, it is always a proud moment. Every Indian is drowning in joy today,” said Modi, who is currently in South Africa for the BRICS summit. “I want to thank team Chandrayaan, team ISRO, and all the scientists in the country for this feat,” he continued.
Somanath also thanked the PM for being part of the journey and introduced the Chandrayaan-3 team — project director P Veeramuthuvel, associate director Kalpana Kalahasti, mission operations director Srikant, and director of UR Rao Satellite Centre M. Sankaran.
Thanking the entire team behind the launch, Veeramuthuvel said: “The entire mission operation happened flawlessly, exactly according to plan.” He also thanked the navigation, guidance, and control teams, propulsion teams, census teams, and mainframe subsistence teams. “The target was on-spot because of the review process too. I would like to thank ISRO’s higher management, especially the chairman,” he added during the press conference.
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‘We have been living, eating, breathing Chandrayaan’
Following the successful landing, President Droupadi Murmu addressed the nation, congratulating ISRO and the country on a “truly momentous occasion”. “This is a kind of event that happens once in a lifetime, making all Indians proud,” she said in a televised address.
Mission director Srikant said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be a part of Chandrayaan-3”, and proceeded to thank his teammates for their tireless work.
Kalpana Kalahasti associate project director, said, “This will remain the most memorable moment for team Chandrayaan-3. From the day we started rebuilding our spacecraft after Chandrayaan-2, we have been breathing in and breathing out Chandrayaan-3”.
UR Rao Satellite Centre’s M. Sankaran said, “Today we have achieved what we set out to achieve in 2019.” He also recounted the work by the ISRO team during Chandrayaan-2. “The tremendous effort put in by the entire project team who have been living, eating, and breathing Chandrayaan. This is what ISRO is about. This success has given us even more responsibility since we have set the bar so high,” he said.
Sivan, the former ISRO Chief who was in charge of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, too, congratulated the Chandrayaan-3 team. “This is a moment we have been waiting for the past four years. This success is sweet news for us and for the entire nation too. It is not just for India, it is for global scientists, and there is a global interest in this mission,” a smiling Sivan told the press.
The ISRO Chairman concluded the session by emphasising the work done by all scientists in the previous ISRO programmes. “I want to thank everyone who prayed for us, around the country and even beyond,” he added.
“This is not the work of us alone. This is the work of a generation of ISRO scientists. We started this journey with Chandrayaan-1, and continued it with Chandrayaan-2. This is an incremental process, and every team must be remembered and thanked as we celebrate Chandrayaan-3,” said Somanath.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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