‘India Reaches the moon’: Joy and Pride as lunar landing burnishes country’s image

Indians all over the world have come together in pride and excitement as the South Asian nation on Wednesday made history by becoming only the fourth country to visit the lunar surface and the first to soft land a spacecraft on the moon’s unexplored South Pole.

Just after 6 o’clock local time, two robots from India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission—Vikram the lander and Pragyan the rover—touched down on the moon. The event was broadcast live to 70 million viewers on the ISRO’s YouTube channel.

 

To raucous cheers in the control room, ISRO chairman S. Somanath announced, “We have accomplished soft landing on the moon.” The moon is home to India.

The historic occasion has grown to be a tremendous source of pride for the 1.4 billion-person nation as it takes difficult efforts to establish itself as a world power.

The triumph of Chandrayaan-3 has united a nation that is enduring intense communal conflict, with deadly sectarian violence erupting in some regions of the nation. It offers millions of people who are celebrating ISRO’s accomplishment a moment of optimism and unification.

Prior to its landing, worshippers could be seen worshipping at Hindu temples, mosques, and Sikh gurdwaras. Schools all around the nation organised live broadcasts of the mission, and young people enthusiastically waved the Indian flag as Chandrayaan-3 landed on the moon.

To celebrate the accomplishment, locals lit firecrackers, handed out candy in the streets, and danced wildly. Outside the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in the capital city of New Delhi, shouts of “victory to India!” echoed.

Ashish Kumar Verma, who was watching the live video, exclaimed, “I’m very excited.” It was an amazing experience to be there.

 

Charvi Katare, another viewer, referred to the event as “inspirational” for India.

 

In honour of the occasion, Mumbai’s famous police band performed a rendition of the well-known Indian national anthem “We Shall Overcome” further south in the city.

 

Numerous politicians, celebrities, and world figures have praised India for their efforts.

Shah Rukh Khan, a famous actor from Bollywood, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Congratulations to all the scientists and engineers… the whole team which has made India so proud.”

Sachin Tendulkar, a legend in the sport of cricket, once said: “Humble, hardworking women and men, coming together, overcoming challenges, and making our tricolour fly high.”

 

The president of the European Union commission, Ursula von der Leyen, commented that “India has become a true pioneer in space exploration.”

 

On Thursday morning, the rover Pragyan made its first steps on the moon after successfully exiting the Chandrayaan-3.

 

ISRO said on X, “The Ch-3 rover ramped down from the lander.” “India went for a moonwalk!”

New India’s triumphant cries
India’s aspirations for space have advanced significantly in recent years.

Chandrayaan-3’s performance is especially exciting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won election in 2014 on a platform of future glory and nationalism. It happens just days after Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft crashed into the moon’s surface instead of making a successful lunar touchdown, ending Moscow’s first lunar landing attempt in 47 years.

 

India’s victory over Russia, a nation seen as a space pioneer, is indicative of the shifting global order for a country that only achieved independence from the British 76 years ago and in which significant portions of the populace remain underprivileged.

 

India made history in 1963 when it launched its first rocket into space the nation could not compete with the aspirations of the US and the former USSR, who were well ahead in the space race.

Since the conflict, New Delhi, which has long-standing ties to the Kremlin, has skillfully handled its relations with both Moscow and Washington and has emerged as a dominant force in the Indo-Pacific, with Modi standing out as the leader who firmly established India as a global power broker.

When the news broke, Modi, who will be running for office next year, was in South Africa for the BRICS economic group summit. He waved the Indian flag as he watched Chandrayaan-3 leave its mark on the moon, beaming as it did so.

 

Shortly after, he declared, “This is the moment of developed India’s victory.” “This is the victory cry of the new India.”

As Chandrayaan-3 approached the lunar surface, S. Jaishankar, the foreign minister of India, who is now in Johannesburg, was observed conversing with Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart.

Is it mooning or landing? Lavrov inquired in jest.

 

“You could say it’s incredible. He’s ecstatic,” Jaishankar was heard saying in response.

 

“I bow to you. Really impressive,” Lavrov responded.

 

The accomplishment of Chandrayaan-3 spurred ISRO chief Somnath to make a statement regarding India’s distinct plans for a journey to the sun.

The first week of September is when we want to debut, he stated.

India is getting ready to launch a person into space. Although no specific date has been given, preparations should be complete by next year.

The journey of Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3’s cameras took pictures as it got closer to the moon, including one from August 20 that the Indian space agency released on Tuesday. The picture gives a detailed view of the moon’s dusty, cratered surface.

The three components of India’s lunar lander—a lander, a rover, and a propulsion module—gave the spacecraft all the thrust it needed to travel the 384,400 kilometres (238,855 miles) between the moon and Earth.

 

After being launched from the propulsion module, the lander, known as Vikram, made the exact manoeuvres necessary to land gently on the lunar surface. A little, six-wheeled rover named Pragyan was tucked inside and trundled onto the moon’s surface.

 

Applause broke out from the mission control centre as Vikram steadily throttled down its engines for a touchdown shortly after 6 p.m. IST (8:30 a.m. ET). Vikram used its onboard thrusters to carefully position itself as it approached the lunar surface.

Later, ISRO acknowledged that two-way communication had been established with the spacecraft and released the first photographs of the surface that had been taken during the lander’s final descent.

 

Both the 1,700 kilogramme (3,748 pound) lander and the 26 kilogramme (57.3 pound) rover are loaded with scientific equipment and ready to collect data that will be used to analyse the lunar surface and provide new insights into its makeup.

In addition, the south pole region is regarded as a vital area of strategic and scientific significance for space-faring countries since it may contain water ice deposits, according to scientists.

The water, which is frozen in gloomy craters, might be used to make drinking water or even rocket fuel for upcoming crewed expeditions.

 

“The moon offers great scientific reward, which explains why we’ve seen so many recent attempts to visit the surface again,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement on Sunday. “We’re excited about everything we will learn in the future, including from India’s Chandraayan-3 mission,” the statement reads.

Source: CNN’s Jackie Wattles and Sania Farooqui  report.