India’s lunar probe safely touched down near the Moon’s unexplored south pole, igniting exuberant celebrations among mission controllers. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3, marking India’s entry as the fourth nation to accomplish this feat after the US, Soviet Union, and China.
This achievement is especially remarkable as it signifies the first-ever landing on the uncharted lunar south pole.
The triumph follows Russia’s Luna-25 probe crash landing on the Moon. Named “Mooncraft” in Sanskrit, Chandrayaan-3 follows India’s previous endeavors in lunar exploration, including a 2008 lunar orbit mission and an unsuccessful landing attempt in 2019. Launched in mid-July, the mission achieved the necessary velocity through Earth orbits.
Historic Moment Timeline:
- 4:40 pm: Prime Minister Modi expresses pride, foreseeing benefits for global moon missions.
- 4:37 pm: Prime Minister Modi hails the mission as a source of new pride and hope for India.
- 4:33 pm: Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing is confirmed.
- 4:31 pm: The spacecraft hovers nearly motionless, just 150 meters above the surface.
- 4:29 pm: Chandrayaan-3 approaches the moon’s surface, less than 1 km away.
- 4:23 pm: Prime Minister Modi joins monitoring efforts via a call from Johannesburg.
- 4:20 pm: Images from the lunar surface confirm positive progress.
- 4:17 pm: Intense monitoring of data as landing nears, no ground intervention possible now.
- 4:14 pm: Powered descent initiated, applause erupts in ISRO control room.
- 4:12 pm: Chandrayaan-3 enters power descent phase, complex data analyzed.
- 4:02 pm: Craft aligns with landing site, mission on track with continuous image transmission.
- 3:45 pm: Visuals of landing site area shared by ISRO.
- 3:34 pm: Anticipation builds as Chandrayaan-3 aims for a successful landing around 4:34 pm UAE time, with planned two-week functionality for critical experiments.
Chandrayaan-3 targets the lunar south pole, renowned for its water ice potential. It could serve as a valuable source of resources for future moon missions or even a permanent moon colony.