With the successful landing, India also became the first country to land near the Moon’s south pole and the fourth country to reach the moon.
Chandrayaan-3 updates: India has arrived on the Moon with the successful landing of the Lander Module of Chandrayaan-3, the third lunar mission from ISRO. It is now the first nation to have set foot near the Moon's south pole.
After the former USSR, the U.S., and China, India became the fourth nation to successfully make a soft landing on the lunar surface with the Lander Module (LM) of the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3, which was launched on July 14.
Check the latest updates here:
The spacecraft was launched on August 5 into lunar orbit using a GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle, and since then it has been lowered closer to the moon's surface through a series of orbital manoeuvres. ISRO had been claiming that the spacecraft's health remained "normal" ever since its launch on July 14.
The lander module used an inbuilt moon reference map to compare a sequence of up-close photographs from ISRO to the moon to determine its location (latitude and longitude).
PM Modi called ISRO Chairman S. Somanath on Wednesday from Johannesburg, South Africa, to congratulate him.
"Somnath Ji, your name is Somnath, which is associated with the moon, and therefore your family members will also be very happy today. Many many congratulations to you and your entire team from my side," PM Modi said in the telephone conversation. "Please convey my greetings to everyone. If possible, I would personally greet you very soon," he further said.
K Sivan, a former ISRO chief who oversaw the space agency during Chandrayaan-3's unsuccessful attempt at a soft landing, spoke about the Chandrayaan-3 mission and its accomplishments.
ISRO chief on Aditya L-1 and Gaganyaan mission:
ISRO revealed the way the Lander Imager Camera captured the moon's image right before touchdown.
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