India erupted in celebration on August 23 as it scripted a story worth billions of dreams, bringing a nation together by becoming the first nation in history to land the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s south pole at 6.04 PM Indian Time.
Launched on July 14, the Chandrayaan-3 pushed India into the hall of fame by becoming the fourth country only after the United States, Russia, and China to achieve a soft landing on the surface of the earth’s natural satellite. The Rs 600 crores Chandrayaan-3 Mission was launched on board the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket where it took 41 days to reach its destination.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi who is attending the BRICS Summit in South Africa joined the event online where he 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”.
The PM added, “India reached the uncharted lunar South Pole because of our scientists’ hard work and talent… 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,” he added.
The ISRO Chief S. Somnath thanked everyone for their prayers, excitement and love of the nation while announcing the next mission, human space flight Gaganyaan.
Immediately, after Chandrayaan-3’s safe landing, the entire country went into a frenzy with the scientists and officials cheering and hugging, firecrackers bursting all over the country and frenzy dancing on the streets with 7 billion watched the YouTube live stream.
