ISRO Chandrayaan-3 Mission: India is on the Moon now; here’s what scientists, industrialists, politicians, celebs said

From the President to the commoner on the streets, here’s how India celebrated the country’s successful landing on the Moon.

Actor Madhavan who played the role of veteran scientist Nambi Narayanan in the film ‘Rocketry’ said, “Words are not enough to describe this achievement Jai Hind, my heart swells with pride. I hope I can stay sane.”

“Congratulations to @ISRO on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 !! A monumental achievement that places India as the fourth country to conquer the lunar surface.” Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said.

Congratulating the Tamil Nadu scientists involved in the mission, he said, “The successful lunar landing of #Chandrayaan3 brings an immense sense of accomplishment to Tamil Nadu. The three #Chandrayaan missions have been led by exceptional minds from Tamil Nadu - Mayilsamy Annadurai, M Vanitha, and now P Veeramuthuvel. Their dedication and expertise inspire us all.”

Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing shows India’s impressive progress in science and technology, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

“This is historic. It is a big achievement for the country. It is a matter of pride for all of us. Many congratulations to all people of the country, scientists, engineers and employees of ISRO for the success of Chandrayaan-3. Bharat Mata ki Jai,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a post in Hindi on X (Twitter).

The entire mission operations of Chandrayaan-3, right from the launch till landing, “happened flawlessly” as per the timeline, the team that led India’s third mission to the Moon said on Wednesday, per a PTI report.

They credited the combined effort of the entire team during the past four years for the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

“It’s a great moment of happiness. On behalf of the team it gives me immense satisfaction on achieving this goal as the Project Director of the mission. The entire mission operations right from launch till landing happened flawlessly as per the timeline,” Project Director of Chandrayaan-3 P Veeramuthuvel said.

Addressing the Chandrayaan-3 team at the Mission Operations Complex, he said India has become the fourth country to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon’s surface and the first country to arrive at the south pole region of the Moon.

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani termed the Chandrayaan-3 landing on the moon as a historic moment.

“Congratulations to ISRO and the people of India for the Chandrayaan-3’s historic landing on the South Pole of the Moon. We look forward to deepening our partnership with India on space exploration in the years ahead,” Jake Sullivan, NSA of the US, said.

“Where there is will and determination, even the moon is not too far. Success of Chandrayaan-3 establishes this beyond doubt,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

“Congratulations to Team ISRO for today’s pioneering feat. ​#Chandrayaan3​’s soft landing on the uncharted lunar South Pole is the result of decades of tremendous ingenuity and hard work by our scientific community,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said. ​

NASA and the European Space Agency on Wednesday congratulated India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon, describing ISRO’s achievement as an “incredible” moment in space history, per a PTI report.

India’s Chandrayaan-3 became the first space mission to land near the south pole of the Moon. The attempt comes days after Russia’s unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the Moon.

After the success of Chandrayaan-3 space mission, ISRO Chairman S Somanath expressed confidence that the space agency would similarly land a spacecraft on Mars in the coming years, per a PTI report.

“It (success of Chandrayaan-3 mission) gives confidence to configure missions to not only go to the Moon, but also to go to Mars, sometimes (perhaps) land on Mars, may be in future go to Venus and other planets...”, he said.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath on Wednesday toasted the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, crediting it to the “pain and agony” of all the scientists who persevered on it, per a PTI report.

Acknowledging the contribution of a generation of leadership by the scientists of the country’s space agency for the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s success, he said this is an “incremental progress” and “definitely a huge one”.

The journey to the Moon is tough and soft-landing is difficult for any nation to achieve today even with the advancement of technology, he said, pointing out that India achieved it in just two missions. Chandrayaan-2, the first mission with the objective of soft landing on the Moon had a narrow miss, while the Chandrayaan-3 mission was perfectly executed.

Here are the images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent.

Soon after the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, ISRO said communication link was established between the Lander and the space agency’s Mission Operations Complex (MOX) here.

The MOX is located at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC).

ISRO also released images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent to the Moon’s surface.

Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Lander Module on Wednesday touched down on the surface of the Moon.

With the Pragyaan rover poised to navigate the moon, its eyes to traverse the crater-filled lunar surface will be powered by a software developed by a Noida-based tech start-up.

Omnipresent Robot Technologies, which has been working closely with ISRO for the Chandrayaan series of lunar missions, has developed Perception Navigation Software for the Pragyaan rover that is housed in the Vikram landing module that touched down on the moon Wednesday evening.

“We are very excited and look forward to seeing the Pragyaan rover navigating the lunar surface using our software,” Aakash Sinha, Chief Executive Officer of Omnipresent Robot Technologies, told PTI here.

Sinha, who is also a professor at Shiv Nadar University, said the software developed by his start-up will capture images of the moon using the two cameras of the lunar rover and stitch them together to generate a 3-D map of the lunar landscape.

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Wednesday hailed as a “historic achievement” the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on Moon’s south pole and congratulated team ISRO on the feat.

The CJI told PTI that the success of the lunar mission places India in a select group of nations that have successfully achieved soft landing on the lunar surface.

“It is with immense pride as a citizen of our great nation that I witnessed the remarkable landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon today,” he said.

Watch Google’s 4-year back video on 50th anniversary of Moon landing

https://www.youtube.com/embed/uzbquKCqEQY?autoplay=1&autohide=1&rel=0&fs=1

“Heart swelling with pride..Tears rolling down the cheeks..Pranam @ISRO at this incredible feat..,” Rajamouli said on X (Twitter.)

“Chaand Taare todh laoon….Saari Duniya par main chhaoon. Aaj india aur @isro chhaa gaya. Congratulations to all the scientists and engineers…the whole team which has made India so proud. Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon. #Chandrayaan3,” ace actor Shah Rukh Khan said in a social media post.

In a giant leap for its space programme, India’s Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.

India scripted history as ISRO’s ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) touched down on the lunar surface on Wednesday, making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat, and first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth’s only natural satellite.

India on Wednesday joined an elite group of three nations to have sent a spacecraft on the moon as Chandrayaan-3 landed a rover on the lunar surface to explore the uncharted territories near the south pole.

The erstwhile Soviet Union, the US and China have successfully carried out soft landings on the moon and even getting back to earth samples of soil and rocks from the lunar surface.

India’s third lunar mission - Chandrayaan-3 - on Wednesday landed near the South Pole of the moon, a place where no spacecraft has travelled so far.

The successful soft landing of India’s ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission on the Moon’s enigmatic south pole has captured the attention and admiration of the scientific community, PTI reported.

Leading scientists and experts said this monumental accomplishment not only marks India’s indelible imprint on lunar exploration but also demonstrates the prowess of human collaboration, determination, and cutting-edge technology.

Dr. Chrisphin Karthick, a scientist at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, expressed his elation. “The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 is a testament to our collective progress towards space travel. It showcases the beauty of unity in diversity as we sail the cosmic seas together,” he told. Read the complete report here.

“Many congratulations to the #Chandrayaan3 team. You have made the nation proud,” said star batter Virak Kohli in a social media post.

“Congratulations to all our magnificent scientists and engineers at #ISRO for finally having #IndiaOnTheMoon. It is proof of the engineering excellence of our frugal technology,” RPG Enterprises Chairman Harsh Goenka said in a social media post.

“Dhanyavaad, Thank you ISRO for Teaching us how to aim for the stars,” Anand Mahindra said after ISRO’s successful mission.

“ISRO represents the best of India. Humble, hardworking women & men, coming together, overcoming challenges, and making our tricolour fly high. India must celebrate and congratulate the Chandrayaan-2 team, which was led by Shri K Sivan, along with Shri S Somanath’s #Chandrayaan3 team. Every hard landing has lessons which take us closer to a soft landing - on the moon, and in life,” cricket Sachin Tendulkar said on X (Twitter).

“Proud, amazed, excited, honoured to be living this moment of history!!,” film actor, producer Ajay Devgn said on X (Twitter).

“An absolutely Momentous achievement for India !! #Chandrayaan3 🚀 registers an unprecedented and spectacular success!!! History is Made today!!,” film actor Chiranjeevi said on X (Twitter).

Chandrayaan-3 landing a momentous occasion, an event that happens once in lifetime: President Droupadi Murmu.

Cinema personalities, including Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jr NTR and Sunny Deol, on Wednesday congratulated the country and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the historic achievement of Chandrayaan-3’s landing on the moon, per a PTI report.

India’s Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, launching the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.

In his X post, Kumar said a billion hearts were saying thank you to ISRO.

“You’ve made us so proud. Lucky to be watching India make history. India is on the moon, we are over the moon. #Chandrayaan3,” the “OMG 2” star wrote.

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, who recently said she will watch Chandrayaan-3 land on the moon’s surface with her children, said she was a proud Indian today.

“What an amazing and stellar touchdown! Proud proud proud!” Kareena captioned her Instagram Story as she shared ISRO’s post.

PM Modi tells ISRO chief that he will soon visit Bengaluru to greet the team on successful Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Success of Chandrayaan-3 gives us the confidence to undertake more challenging future missions, ISRO Chief S Somanath said.

“Congratulations ISRO on your successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar South Pole landing! And congratulations to India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We’re glad to be your partner on this mission,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Taking to X (Twitter), Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has said that the success of Chandrayaan-3 is the collective success of every Indian.

Taking to X (Twitter), PM Modi has said that it is a historic day for India’s space sector.

Shares of companies related to aerospace and defense sectors were in the limelight on Wednesday with Chandrayaan-3 set to touch down on the lunar surface, per a PTI report.

The stock of Centum Electronics zoomed 14.91 per cent, Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd jumped 5.47 per cent, MTAR Technologies rallied 4.84 per cent and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd climbed 3.57 per cent on the BSE.

Centum delivered more than 200 mission critical modules to the Chandrayaan-3 mission, according to the company’s website.

Shares of Bharat Forge climbed 2.82 per cent, Astra Microwave Products gained 1.72 per cent and Larsen & Toubro (1.42 per cent).

Many of these firms also hit their 52-week high levels during the day.

Earlier in the day, the ISRO said it was all set to initiate the automatic landing sequence for its ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3’s lander module to touch down on the lunar surface this evening.

In a giant leap for India’s space programme, Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole, propelling the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.

India scripted history as ISRO’s ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) touched down on the lunar surface on Wednesday, making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat, and first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth’s only natural satellite.

This is a moment to cherish forever; India is now on the moon: PM Modi.

India’s successful moon mission is not India’s alone; Our approach of one earth, one family one future is resonating across the globe: PM Modi.

India has set new, ambitious targets for future: PM Modi as he talks about missions to explore Sun, other planets.

No other country has been able to land on this side of moon before; this will change all narratives and stories about moon: PM Modi.

I heartily congratulate ISRO, its scientists for this unprecedented feat: PM Modi in virtual address after Chandrayaan-3’s landing on moon.

“I reached my destination”, says Chandrayaa-3 Mission.

Celebrations break out at ISRO’s Mission Operations Complex in Bengaluru as Chandrayaan-3 lander module makes soft landing.

This is historic movement and sounds the bugle for a developed India : PM Narendra Modi on Chandrayaan’s successful landing on the moon.

We are witness to the new flight of new India; new history has been written: PM Modi on successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 Mission.

We have achieved soft landing on moon. India is on the Moon: ISRO Chief S Somanath.

This is not India’s success alone, but of the whole world and humanity, says PM Modi

After the successful soft landing of the Mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congraturated ISRO scientists on behalf of the whole nation.

The ISRO Chandrayaan-3 lander has successfully completed the Phase-1 or Rough Braking phase of mission. This will be followed Fine Braking phase.

The lander is in its first phase i.e. Rough Braking phase.

The crucial Power Descent stage of lander has begun, announces ISRO officials.

The velocity of lander will be brought down from 1680 m/s to 358m/s during rough landing phase, says ISRO officials.

Minutes ahead of the soft ‘fall’ of the lander, ISRO officials have said that Chandrayaan-3 has been equipped with a suit of equipped payloads.

Two families in Assam’s Tinsukia and Lakhimpur towns are eagerly waiting for the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on moon as their scientist daughter-in-law and son, respectively, are involved in the Landing Control Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) mission at Sriharikota, per a PTI report.

In Tinsukia, retired government employee Deepak Dev and his wife Sikha, the in-laws of 35-year-old senior scientist Nidhi Sharma, who is in the team helming the landing of Chandrayaan-3, are feeling proud that she is a part of this historic event and anxious about the success of the landing.

Taking a cue from the Chandrayaan-2 Mission, ISRO has carried out software improvements ahead of the current Mission.

Minutes ahead of the soft ‘fall’ of the lander, ISRO officials have said the successful soft landing will be crucial for for ISRO’s future inter-planetary missions.

An entire nation waited, praying and hoping fervently, as the countdown to touch down on the Moon wound to a slow close on Wednesday with many thousands gathering in schools, places of worship and elsewhere and scientists doing last minute checks to ensure Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing on the lunar south pole.

If the Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeds in making the touchdown and in landing a robotic lunar rover in the Indian Space Research Organisation’s second attempt in four years, India will become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union. The landing is scheduled near the Moon’s south polar region at 6:04 pm.

Besides the scientists at the ISRO, officials at the European Space Agency are also involved in tracking the lander module of the Chandrayaan-3 mission which is just hours away from making a soft landing on the surface of the Moon, a senior scientist said on Wednesday, per a PTI report.

European Space Agency Service Manager and Liaison Officer to ISRO Ramesh Chellathurai said the ESA has been providing support to the Chandrayaan-3 mission since the pandemic.

Introducing himself in a brief video, Chellathurai said, “I work for the European Space Agency at the European Space Operations Centre, in Darmstadt Germany.

“Within the European Space Operations Centre, I work for the Deep Space and External Services Section wherein we provide support for ESA’s deep space missions and external agencies,” he said in the video shared in a social media post.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggested the creation of a BRICS space consortium, hours before a spacecraft from the South Asian nation attempts to land near the moon’s south pole, per a Bloomberg report.

Modi was speaking at the plenary session of the BRICS bloc — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in Johannesburg on Wednesday. India is set to become the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole after Russia’s attempt at a lunar touch down in the same area ended in failure following an engine malfunction.

“In a few hours, India’s space craft will be landing on the moon. We congratulate you,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said after Modi’s speech. “This for the BRICS family is a momentous moment.”

businessline explains:

For decades after the US Apollo missions, mankind ignored the moon. But now, after the presence of ice in the southern polar region of the moon has been conclusively established, there is renewed interest. Ice means water, water could be split into hydrogen and oxygen, both of which are rocket fuels.

This means, in future, rockets could be built on the moon and powered by locally produced fuels, for other space missions.

It is easier and cheaper to launch deep space missions from the moon, because of its low gravity, but this wouldn’t have been economically feasible if you have to carry rocket fuel from the earth to the moon.

businessline explains:

The Chandrayaan-3 is estimated to cost around Rs 615 crore.

businessline explains:

They digitise the data and transmit it in the form of electromagnetic waves, to a receiver on the propulsion module, which is still circulating the moon. For back-up, we still have the orbiter module of Chandrayaan-2, the previous moon mission, which also has a receiver. The propulsion module or the orbiter will transmit the data to the earth.

businessline explains:

No. The propulsion module, the lander, the rover are all up there forever. Unless some day an astronaut lands on the moon and decides to bring them back as souvenirs.

businessline explains:

Equipped with wheels, the rover will crawl around the moon’s surface like a cockroach, pick up soil and do experiments, punch a probe a foot down the surface to check thermal conductivity. Instruments on the lander will also do experiments. Basically, these instruments check-out the moon, to know more about it.

businessline explains:

After the lander has soft-landed, it will make sure everything is okay. Then, figuratively speaking, a sort of a trap door under the lander will open and guiderails will slip out of it. The rover will slide down the rails to the moon surface.

businessline explains:

We have seen spacecraft sent to Mars, like Curiosity and Perseverance, slowly parachute down, but there is no parachute in our moon missions.

That is because Mars has an atmosphere, while the moon doesn’t. Yes, the Martian atmosphere is thin. The average atmospheric pressure is about 1 per cent of Earth’s. But still there is an atmosphere, which is, by the way, made of carbon dioxide. You need some air to be put under the parachute — to provide what is called ‘drag’. Mars has some, the moon has none.

businessline explains:

The lander actually ‘falls’ on the moon. But it has four thrusters — or engines — which will provide it an upward thrust and slow down its descent. It is calculated that just before the touchdown, it will be traveling at a speed of 2 meters per second.

businessline explains:

We can also shoot off a rocket straight to the moon. Only, the rocket will have to be extremely big. To travel the distance of 384,400 km, the rocket will have to carry enormous amounts of fuel. The fuel adds to the weight of rocket, so it would need to be more powerful.

The Saturn V rocket that took Apollo 11 to the moon in 1969 stood 363-feet tall. The LVM-3 is 142-feet tall. Big rockets are very expensive. Besides, there is no urgency, there is no need for the Chandrayaan-3 to reach the moon fast. That is why it takes a route that makes use of the gravity of the earth to sling itself towards the moon.

The Lander has the capability to touch down at a specified lunar site and deploy the Rover which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility, per a PTI report.

Lander:

• The lander has mission life of one Lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 Earth days.
• It has a mass of 1749.86 kg including Rover
• There are four scientific payloads in it
• Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) will measure the near surface plasma (ions and electrons) density and its changes with time.
• Chandra’s Surface Thermo physical Experiment (ChaSTE) will carry out the measurements of thermal properties of lunar surface near polar region.
• Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) will measure seismicity around the landing site and delineate the structure of the lunar crust and mantle.
• Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA) from NASA is a passive experiment to understand the dynamics of Moon system.
• LRA will have seven sensors including Lander Hazard Detection & Avoidance Camera.
• Lander has six mechanisms, which are Lander leg, Rover Ramp (Primary and Secondary), Rover, ILSA, Rambha & Chaste Payloads, Umbilical connector Protection Mechanism, and X- Band Antenna

Rover:

• Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) Propulsion Module for qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis
• LIBS will help derive the chemical composition and infer mineralogical composition to further our understanding of lunar-surface.
• Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) will determine the elemental composition such as magnesium, Aluminium, Silicon, Potassium, Calcium, Titanium, Iron) of lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site.

Chandrayaan-2 failed to soft-land because of a chain of events triggered by a valve’s failure to reduce flow into the engines. As more than ordered fuel went to the engines, a higher thrust was generated, which disturbed the attitude (orientation) of the lander, a software glitch failing to correct it. The slow rate at which the thruster was designed to turn around itself and the not-so-big landing area.

ISRO has taken corrective measures, mainly on the thrust and the speed of rotation of the lander. According to ISRO, the “engine thrust controller throttle value slewing rate has been reduced”, and the “instantaneous thrust regulation scheme has been implemented for the entire powered descent phase.”

The tolerance limit for deviation in thrust in each of the four individuals has been increased (to 48N). This means that if an engine develops higher or lower thrust within the limit, it won’t matter. Read our complete report here.

It was festive mood across Odisha on Wednesday with India’s Chandrayaan-3 all set to land on the moon’s south pole in a short while. Beginning from individuals to organisations and religious bodies, all were busy making preparations for the occasion slated for Wednesday evening, per a PTI report.

A group of priests in Lord Jagannath Temple assembled in front of the 12th century shrine’s Lion’s Gate and lit “diyas” seeking divine blessings for the success of the lunar mission.

“As Lord Jagannath is worshiped as the master of the universe, His blessings are most essential for India’s lunar mission. According to Vedas, all the planets revolve around the Sun as per the directions of Maha Vishnu, the Lord Jagannath,” said Bhaskar Mishra, a researcher in the Jagannath culture.

The Assam School Education Department has asked all schools to organise special assemblies of students to watch live stream of Chandrayan-3 landing on the moon on Wednesday.

The School Education department in a letter to the Director of Elementary education, Secondary education, State Council of Education, Research and Training (SCERT) and the Managing Director of Adarsh Vidyalaya has directed them to organise special assemblies of students from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm on the occasion in all the schools of the state.

With Chandrayaan-3 all set to land on the moon on Wednesday evening, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged people to stand together and cheer for its successful soft landing.

“Chandrayaan-3 mission is a matter of pride for the entire nation!. The @isro team belongs to India. Their hard work is a testament of the country’s progress which has come from the people, scientists and economists, and not any political entity,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

It is not only Tamil Nadu’s sons of the soil – former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Chandrayaan-2 Mission Director Mayilsamy Annadurai, and Chandrayaan-3 Project Director Veeramuthuvel P – who have contributed to ISRO missions, but literally the state’s soil itself, per a PTI report.

Since 2012, Namakkal, which is about 400 km from state capital Chennai, has supplied soil to ISRO for testing for the Chandrayaan Mission capability, as the earth in that district is similar to that of the lunar surface.

This is the third time that Tamil Nadu has supplied the necessary soil to the Bengaluru headquartered space agency for performing the tests for its ambitious Moon missions.

According to the Director of Geology Department of Periyar University, Professor S Anbazhagan, the soil was available in abundance in the Namakkal area, enabling them to rise to the occasion when the need arose for ISRO.

“We have been engaged in conducting research in geology. Tamil Nadu has the kind of soil that is present on the lunar surface, particularly that which is very similar to the soil present at the southern pole (of the Moon). The lunar surface has ‘Anorthosite’ (a type of intrusive igneous rock) type of soil,” he said.

“All set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). Awaiting the arrival of Lander Module (LM) at the designated point, around 5.44 pm. Upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates the throttleable engines for powered descent. The mission operations team will keep confirming the sequential execution of commands,” ISRO announced on X.

The live telecast of operations at MOX begins at 5.20 pm, it added.

Describing ISRO’s moon mission Chandrayaan-3 as a momentous journey for the country, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Wednesday said India is going to be on top of the world in the field of science and technology, per a PTI report.

Bose congratulated scientists of ISRO for making the mission possible.

“This is a momentous journey for India. They say sky is the limit, we have gone beyond that. We are now in the space. India is going to be on top of the world in the field of science and technology.

“I want to thank the scientists of ISRO. I have spoken to its chief. I want to congratulate them who made this possible,” the governor said, addressing a programme at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday.

With Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Lander ‘Vikram’ and rover ‘Pragyan’ scheduled to touch down on the Lunar surface on Wednesday, the task for the duo is cut out and here is what they will do once they reach the Earth’s only natural satellite.

The Lander has the capability to touch down at a specified lunar site and deploy the Rover which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility.

The Lander and the Rover have scientific payloads to carry out experiments on the lunar surface. The main function of the Propulsion Module (PM) was to carry the Lander Module (LM) from the launch vehicle injection till final lunar 100 km circular polar orbit and separate the LM from PM, which it did.

The Centre has asked all universities and higher education institutions, including IITs and IIMs, to organise special assemblies to watch the live-streaming of Chandrayaan-3’s landing on moon, per a PTI report.

“The landing of India’s Chandrayaan-3 is a monumental occasion that will not only fuel curiosity but also spark a passion for exploration within the minds of our youth. It will generate a profound sense of pride and unity as we collectively celebrate the prowess of Indian science and technology.

“It will contribute to fostering an environment of scientific inquiry and innovation,” Higher Education secretary K Sanjay Murthy said in a letter to all heads of all education institutions.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also issued a similar directive asking the institutions to hold special assemblies and live stream moments of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission landing, on Wednesday.

The Indian diaspora here is eagerly waiting for Chandrayaan-3’s much-anticipated landing on the Moon on Wednesday with many of them saying the lunar mission will propel India as a global leader in space technology and inspire millions of children to take up science, physics and astronomy as their area of pursuit, per a PTI report.

ISRO’s ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan) is all set to land on the lunar surface on Wednesday evening at 6.04 pm, as India eyes becoming the first country to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth’s only natural satellite.

𝐓𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐄𝐥𝐱𝐬𝐢 𝐋𝐭𝐝: Development Of Spacecraft, Avionics And Software.

▪️𝐓𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: Manufacturing Of Chandrayan 3’s Lander.

▪️𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧 & 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐫𝐨 𝐋𝐭𝐝 Launch Pad And Another Infra For ISRO.

▪️𝐌𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐭𝐝: Manufacturing Rocket Engines And Core Pumps for ISRO since a long.

▪️𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐋𝐭𝐝: Manufacturing chandryan3’s Payloads.

▪️𝐇𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐋𝐭𝐝: Development Of Lander Along with Mechanical Support Equipment.

▪️𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐋𝐭𝐝: Design Development And Manufacturing of Electronics System For Space Applications.

Chandrayaan-3’s lander, which is expected to leg down on the moon this evening, will ‘free-fall’ on the lunar surface during the last 10 metres of its descent.

The lander, which is circling the moon right now, will begin its downward journey at a height of 30 metres, this evening around 5:30 pm, IST. It will then move on a curved path, losing altitude and speed. Read our complete report.

Schools in Haryana will organise live streaming of the soft landing of ISRO’s moon mission Chandrayaan-3 Wednesday evening to inspire the students and boost their self-confidence, said state’s Education Minister Kanwar Pal.

He said all district education officers in the state have been instructed to open the schools from 5 pm to 6 pm on Wednesday, per a PTI report.

A delegation from an American university joined a ‘havan’ programme conducted by a private varsity in Noida on Wednesday with prayers for the successful landing of India’s Chandrayaan-3 expected later in the day. The ‘havan’ started in the morning with thousands of Amity University students and faculty members in attendance and would continue till the scheduled landing of Chandrayaan-3 at 6.04 pm, the varsity said in a statement.

Kartikeya Sarabhai, son of physicist and founder of India’s space program Vikram Sarabhai, on Wednesday said the Chandrayaan-3 project represents the “new India” and every citizen is proud of this project, per a PTI report.

In a tribute to Vikram Sarabhai, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has named Chandrayaan-3’s lander as `Vikram’.

The lander, along with the rover `Pragyan’, is set to touch down on the lunar surface on Wednesday evening. India will be only the fourth country to do so and first to reach the uncharted south pole of the moon.

“It is a great day for all of us, not only Indians but globally, because no one was able to reach the southern side of the moon. People had tried in the past, but failed. There is a likelihood of water there in a different form,” Kartikeya Sarabhai, an environmentalist, told PTI.

“It is a very proud feeling for us because the lander has been named after Vikram Sarabhai. But, this pride is for all of us, not just the immediate family. Different components of this lander are made by different people. So it actually integrated so much of India into it. Scientists from all over the country were involved. It represents new India,” he said.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday said India has taken a “giant leap” in the space sector and a big change will come with the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon, per a PTI report.

The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 would make India stand among the three-four countries of the world which have made the biggest contribution in the field of space, the union minister of sports and youth affairs said.

“Like 140 crore Indians giving their best wishes for Chandrayaan-3, I am also one of them. India has taken a giant leap in the space sector and we all are waiting for the moment when Chandrayaan-3 lands successfully,” Thakur said.

ISRO has announced that said it is all set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) for its third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) to touch down on the lunar surface.

“All set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). Awaiting the arrival of Lander Module (LM) at the designated point, around 17:44 Hrs. IST (5:44 pm),” ISRO said in a post on X.

“Upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates the throttleable engines for powered descent. The mission operations team will keep confirming the sequential execution of commands,” ISRO added.

Having learnt from its previous experience, ISRO has incorporated seven correction measures in Chandrayaan-3. Here they are:

1. Engine thrust control throttle valve slewing rate reduced – can control the throttle valve better, better regulate fuel flow into the engines

2. Algorithms governing thrust modified

3. Instantaneous thrust regulation scheme implemented for the entire descent —for better control over thrust regulation.

4. Variability of individual thrust increased to 90N. There are four thrusters on Chandrayaan-3 (five on Chandrayaan-2). The tolerance of variation of thrust among the individual thrusters has been increased. Essentially, this means that if one thruster “misbehaves” a little, the vehicle can tolerate it.

5. ‘Laser doppler velocimeter’ or LDV has been brought in to regulate the flow of fuel into the engines. The LDV is a sophisticated instrument, which throws a laser beam onto a flowing liquid and determines the flow rate from the reflected light. This instrument, again, will help better regulate the engine thrust.

6. The rate of rotation of the lander has been enhanced to 25 degrees a second, from 10 degrees earlier – this will help the lander return to its position quicker

7. Multiple paths to handle contingencies — even if the lander is off-track, it can soft-land. In that case, it won’t be a perfect landing, but it won’t be a crash land either.

India is at the cusp of scripting history, as ISRO’s third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) is all set to touch down on the lunar surface on Wednesday evening, making it only the fourth country to do so, and first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth’s only natural satellite.

The lander module, which comprises of the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), is scheduled to make a touch down at 6:04 pm on Wednesday.