Bengaluru: ISRO scripted a history by soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 successfully near the moon’s South Pole on Wednesday at 6.04 pm. ISRO Chief Somnath declared that  India is on the moon. India has become the fourth country to land a rover on moon after USSR/Russia, United States and China.

Chandrayaan – 3 brings cheer to a billion hearts and propelling India to the elite space club. India has become the first nation to land near the Moon’s South Polesince traces of water was detected in the area.

#Chandrayaan3: #Pragyan rover has started rolling out 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/9rSNzvWT7Y

— Indian Aerospace Defence News – IADN (@NewsIADN) August 23, 2023

Social media was flooded with congratulatory messages. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who joined in the event online from South Africa said this moment is precious and unprecedented. This moment announces the victory bugle of a New India. This moment is the strength of 1.4 billion heartbeats. India reached the uncharted lunar South Pole because of our scientists’ hard work and talent, said Modi.

Modi in his virtual video speech said that our moon mission is also based on the human-centric approach, which is why the success belongs to all humanity. It will help moon missions by the other countries in the future.

After successful landing of Chandrayaan -3 ISRO Chief Somnath said thanks to everyone for your prayers, excitement and love for the nation. This success is dedicated to all of you. The next mission is Gaganyaan (human space flight). We are targeting to have it on September or in the first week of October.

The successful landing of the Vikram lander has kicked up a lot of fine dust. The rover pragyan was rolled only only after the dust had dispersed a process that takes a few hours. Unlike Earth, the dust will not settle in moon, given its lower gravitation.

For the next 14 days, the rover Pragyan will send images and data from the surface of the moon. After 14 days, its activity is likely to slow down, given that it is powered by solar cells.