Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 23: India is now on the moon and the success belongs to all humanity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday congratulating India and the whole world after lander Vikram of the Chanrayaan-3 mission successfully landed near the Moon’s South Pole.
Addressing scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) virtually from Johannesburg, South Africa, where 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,” Modi said, noting that India has reached the South Pole of the moon, where no country had ventured so far.
“India is now on the moon and now is the time to walk on the ‘Chandra Path’,” the Prime Minister said. India is the first nation to land a craft near the Moon’s South Pole where scientists believe there are high chances of finding a dense concentration of water, which was first detected by the previous Chandrayaan-2 mission.
“Our approach of one Earth, one family, one future is resonating across the globe. This human-centric approach has been welcomed universally. Our Moon mission is also based on the human-centric approach, which is why the success belongs to all of humanity. It will help Moon missions by the other countries in future,” Modi said.
Modi’s address came seconds after the ISRO confirmed the successful touchdown of the lander Vikram. The rover Pragyan will roll out from the lander craft after over three hours after the dust drift away on its own momentum.
“India reached the uncharted lunar South Pole because of our scientists’ hard work and talent. Stories, myths and anecdotes will change for the new generation. Earlier it was said – Chanda mama bahut dur hai (the Moon is very far away), now children will say Chanda mama bas ek tour hai (the Moon is just a tour away),” Modi said.
The Chandrayaan-3’s landing on the moon is a historic moment and sounds the bugle for a developed India, Modi said. “We are witness to the new flight of new India. New history has been written,” the Prime Minister said. “Though I was in South Africa for the BRICS Summit, my heart and soul was here (in India),” the Prime Minister said. Modi joined the scientists gathered at ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru virtually
With this touchdown on moon in second attempt in four years, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union. Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 which had failed in 2019 in its lunar phase when its lander ‘Vikram’ crashed into the surface of the Moon minutes before the touch down following anomalies in the braking system in the lander. Chandrayaan’s maiden mission was in 2008.
The soft-landing took place just four days after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control. The lander and the six-wheeled rover (with total mass of 1,752 kg) are designed to operate for one lunar daylight period (about 14 Earth days) The lander with four legs, had multiple sensors to ensure a safe touchdown, including an accelerometer, altimeters, Doppler velocimeter, inclinometer, touchdown sensor, and a suite of cameras for hazard avoidance and positional knowledge.
The lander carries the rover “Pragyan” in a compartment with a ramp for deployment onto the surface.
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