Bengaluru – In a historic milestone for India’s space program, the Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander Vikram successfully soft-landed on the surface of the moon today. Operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Chandrayaan-3 achieved what its predecessor Chandrayaan-2 had failed to accomplish last year.
The landing marks the first time India has successfully landed a spacecraft on an extraterrestrial body. It represents a major achievement for ISRO as the space agency looks to solidify India’s status as a leading space-faring nation.
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With the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, India has now become the 4th country in the world to softly land a spacecraft on the lunar surface. Only three nations before India – the United States, Russia, and China – had achieved this significant technological milestone of executing a controlled landing on the moon.
Chandrayaan-3’s historic achievement this week places India into this exclusive club of space superpowers that have mastered the end-to-end engineering capabilities for a lunar landing mission. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) deserves full credit for this remarkable accomplishment that now puts India’s lunar exploration program at par with the very best in the world.
Leaders of major space agencies like NASA, ESA, Roscosmos and JAXA have applauded ISRO for pulling off such a challenging feat. The successful landing of the Vikram lander and deployment of the Pragyan rover marks a proud moment for India’s space scientists and engineers. It validates India’s perseverance and rapid progress in advancing its space technology prowess.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on July 15, 2022, atop India’s most powerful rocket, the GSLV Mk III. The orbiter, lander, and rover safely entered lunar orbit on August 1 after completing several orbital maneuvers.
Over the last week, Vikram separated from the orbiter and began its descent towards the lunar south pole region. After a tense 48-minute descent sequence, the 1,471 kg lander touched down within 500 meters of its intended landing site. Communication signals confirming the soft landing were met with loud cheers by scientists at mission control.
The rover Pragyan will now emerge from Vikram and spend 14 days studying surface features, minerals, and signatures of water ice on the moon’s surface. The data gathered will provide key insights about the lunar terrain and potential future missions.
The renewed success of India’s lunar program has sparked celebrations across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the space agency for the achievement, which coincides with 75 years of India’s independence.
Chandrayaan-3’s accomplishment ends years of setbacks for ISRO since the successful Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008. It brings India into an elite club of nations including the US, Russia, and China that have mastered soft lunar landings, considered extremely challenging technologically. With today’s historic landing, the future looks bright for India’s plans for space exploration and scientific discovery.
