Bengaluru: India made history on Wednesday after its Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeded in soft-landing on the South Pole of the Moon.
India became the first nation to land on the south pole of the moon, and fourth to land on the north pole of it.
This was ISRO’s third attempt to land Chandrayaan on the Moon four years after its predecessor crashed on the lunar surface.
Addressing ISRO from Johannesburg in South Africa on the historic occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this success belongs to all humanity.
“This human-centric approach that we represent has been welcomed universally. Our moon mission is also based on the same human-centric approach. Therefore, this success belongs to all of humanity,” he said.
Modi said India’s successful moon mission is not India’s alone and added that this is a year in which the world is witnessing India’s G-20 presidency. “Our approach of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ is resonating across the globe,”he said.
Modi said this will help moon missions by other countries in the future. “I am confident that all countries in the world, including those from the Global South, are capable of achieving such feats. We can all aspire for the moon and beyond,” he said.
ISRO came out trumps during the critical process of soft-landing, which was dubbed by many including ISRO officials as 17 minutes of terror.
The lander fired its engines at the right times and altitudes, and used the right amount of fuel, besides scanning the lunar surface for any obstacles before it finally touched down on the Moon.
The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 onboard Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, for a 41-day voyage to reach near the lunar south pole.
The soft-landing was attempted days after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control.
After the second and final deboosting operation on August 20, the LM was placed in a 25 km x 134 km orbit around the Moon
