August 23 (AIR News): India has created history as it became the first country to land on the South Pole of the lunar surface.

The Vikram lander had a flawless touchdown at a site close to the lunar South Pole. This important breakthrough has broken the barrier in space exploration for India.
 
The anxiety was palpable in the Command centre for 20 minutes before landing, ISRO initiated the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). It enabled the Vikram Landing Module to take charge and use its onboard computers and logic to identify a favourable spot and make a soft landing on the lunar surface.

After the successful touch, there was jubilation everywhere. The ISRO team celebrated by shaking hands and by thumbs-up gestures. ISRO Chairman S Somnath thanked everyone for their support. He said that it was a lesson learnt from failure and today they succeeded. He added that they are looking forward to the next 14 days from now for the Chandrayaan-3 lander and Rover on the lunar surface. The Chairman has informed that Rover Pragyan will roll down after reviewing the data availed from the lander.
 
The Project Director of Chandrayaan 3 mission P Veeramuthuvel thanked the entire Project Chandrayaan 3 team for the success today. He said that the lander had flawless touchdown and India had demonstrated its capabilities of soft landing on the Moon.
 
The Associate Project Director of Chandrayaan 3 mission Kalpana said that it was the most memorable moment for her and her team and she would never forget this moment which has come after four years of hard work.
 
The Mission Director M Sreekanth thanked the entire team of ISRO for achieving this difficult task of softlanding on the lunar surface.
   
After soft landing of Vikram lander on Moon, ISRO command centre has established the communication link between the Chandrayaan-3 Lander and MOX-ISTRAC, Bengaluru. After this, it obtained the images from the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera taken during the descent. The pictures of lunar surface at close proximity are tweeted by ISRO.

Prez, VP, PM laud ISRO for successful landing of Chandrayaan 3

The Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO accomplished the task of soft landing of its Lander module, Vikram on Lunar surface. With this achievement, India has taken a giant leap in the area of space research, by also becoming the first country to reach the south pole of the Moon.
  
President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other leaders across the country lauded the team ISRO for the successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 at the lunar surface today.
 
In a video message, President Droupadi Murmu termed this a momentous occasion, saying that the scientists of ISRO have made history today. She added that the success of Chandrayaan 3  is a major achievement for the whole of humankind. She said it shows how India has harnessed its rich traditional knowledge along with modern science in the service of humanity.
 
Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar also called Mission Chandrayaan 3 a historic moment for India and said it is a giant leap in space exploration. Extending his wishes to the countrymen, Mr Dhankhar said the successful landing of Chandrayaan3 on the southern pole of the Moon is a testament to our scientific prowess and unwavering determination. He added that our nation's commitment to advancing space technology has led us to become a global leader.
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed ISRO for the remarkable success of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission today. Addressing the nation through video conferencing from South Africa, Mr Modi said, it is a historic day for India's space sector and sounds the bugle for a developed India. The Prime Minister said, India had taken the pledge on earth and fulfilled it on the moon. The Prime Minister said, it is a moment for the developed India and new energy. He said, when we see such historic moments it makes us very proud. Mr Modi remarked, this is the dawn of new India. He said, success belongs to all humanity and expressed confidence that the global south has the capability to achieve such a feat.
 
Union Minister for Space, Science, and Technology Jitendra Singh also hailed the team ISOR and said that Chandrayaan 3 has actualized the dream of India and the tricolour flies high in lunar skies, affirming India’s resolve, as articulated by PM Modi.
 
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also lauded the success of the Chandrayaan 3 Mission. In a social media post, Mr. Shah said, India has become the first nation to touch the south pole of the moon with the success of this Mission. He said, the new space odyssey flies India's celestial ambitions to newer heights, setting it apart as the world's launchpad for space projects. He said, it will create a plethora of employment opportunities for the country's youths.
 
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur said that India has made history after the Chandrayaan 3 success near the South Pole of the moon. He added that India became the first country to have a spacecraft near the South Pole of the Moon.
 
BJP President JP Nadda also congratulated the team ISRO and the scientific community. In a video message, he said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi India is achieving new feet in the space sector.  He added that this mission is a real example of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
 
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi also extended their greeting to team ISRO for a successful landing. In a social media post, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge said, the success of Chandrayaan3 is the collective success of every Indian. Rahul Gandhi in his social media post said that Chandrayaan 3’s soft landing on the uncharted lunar South Pole is the result of decades of tremendous hard work by our scientific community.