India reaches the Moon! After scripting history, ISRO releases first images taken during descent

India became the first nation to successfully land a lander on the Moon’s relatively unknown South Pole after the Vikram lander made a successful soft landing on the lunar surface.

India thus became only the fourth country after the erstwhile USSR, USA and China to land on the moon.

Joining ISRO scientists via video conferencing from South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed it is a “historic day for India’s space sector”.

Congratulating ISRO scientists on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, President Droupadi Murmu said it is a momentous occasion which has made India proud.

Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma while watching the landing at a school in Azara on the outskirts of Guwahati, tweeted: “Another giant leap for humanity!”, taking a leaf out of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s famous statement after becoming the first man to step on the Moon in 1969.

ISRO, meanwhile, has released image captured by the Landing Imager Camera after the landing. The rover module named ‘Pragyaan’ will now embark on its 14-day assignment to carry out the tasks mandated by the ISRO scientists.