India has made history by successfully landing its spacecraft on the moon.
Celebrations have begun across India after the nation became the fourth to successfully land spacecraft on the moon just days after Russia’s Luna-25 mission failed.
Marking its achievement in history, India landed its Chandrayaan-3 on Earth’s only natural satellite. Furthermore, the country became the first to land its spacecraft on the yet unexplored south pole of the moon.
According to the reports, the Chandrayaan-3 touched ground at 18:03 Indian Standard Time on Wednesday after remaining in orbit for more than two weeks.
Following the successful landing, celebrations erupted at ground control and across the nation.
“This moment is unforgettable. It is phenomenal. This is a victory cry of a new India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared.
“India is on the moon,” the Indian Space Research Organisation chief S. Somanath announced.
The organization also shared a series of photos taken by the spacecraft which show the moon’s rocky surface and the leg of the lander.
Following the historic achievement, NASA congratulated ISRO on the extraordinary feat with administrator Bill Nelson saying: “Congratulations @isro on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing! And congratulations to #India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We’re glad to be your partner on this mission!”
India’s moon landing comes as the country races to establish its presence as a space superpower in the world.
“Landing on the south pole would actually allow India to explore if there is water ice on the moon. And this is very important for cumulative data and science on the geology of the moon,” Carla Filotico of SpaceTec Partners said.
Meanwhile, the successful landing is expected to boost the country’s investments in space engineering and exploration and draw attention to the development of private space launches.
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