India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission has successfully landed on the lunar surface, making it the fourth nation globally to make a soft landing on the moon and the first country to land on the lunar south pole. The spacecraft was launched on July 14, 2023, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on South India’s Sriharikota island. The mission aims to demonstrate safe landing and roving on the moon’s surface and conduct on-site scientific experiments. The spacecraft comprises a propulsion module, lander, and a rover that collectively carry seven scientific instruments. The lander will conduct experiments on seismic vibrations, near-surface plasma, lunar temperature, thermal conductivity, elemental composition, and spectral signatures of Earth. The rover is identical to that of the Chandrayaan-2 mission.
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has congratulated India on Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing on the moon. Excited and anxious people across India crowded around televisions in offices, shops, restaurants, and homes as ISRO began live streaming the final hour of the mission. Visuals shared by the space organization also showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi keenly tracking the rover’s descent from South Africa.