Chandrayaan-3 launch successfully launched into orbit

HYDERABAD: Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 mission was succesfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 2.35 PM IST on Thursday.

If ISRO pulls off this mission, India will join an exclusive list of just three other countries that have managed a soft landing on the moon—the United States, the erstwhile Soviet Union and most recently, China. Both the United States and the Soviet Union crashed many spacecrafts before they successfully landed on the Moon. China was the only country to succeed in its first attempt with the Chang’e-3 mission in 2013.

"The spacecraft has successfully taken off from earth and is now in orbit around the planet in its journey towards the, moon. It has many critical events lined up, including earth-bound manoeuvres, insertion into the lunar orbit, separation of the lander, a set of deboost manoeuvres and a power descent phase for a soft landing," said P Veeramuthuvel, project director of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft.

The journey of Chandrayaan -3 from earth to the moon for the spacecraft is estimated to take about a month and the landing is expected on August 23,2023. Upon landing, it will operate for one lunar day, which is approximately 14 earth days.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, extended his congratulations to the ISRO team for the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3. He expressed his wishes for a smooth landing and a successful lunar expedition, highlighting the significance of this achievement in enhancing India's space capabilities and elevating the country's reputation on the global stage.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao too expressed his delight over the successful launch. He extended his heartfelt congratulations to the dedicated team of ISRO chairman, scientists and other technical personnel and emphasised that success of of initial stage of Chandrayaan-3 as a significant milestone for India’s space research sector.

Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan also congratulated the scientists at ISRO for the successful launch. She said that this accomplishment added another milestone to India's self-reliance and filled the nation with pride.