Chandrayaan 3: ISRO on Moon as touchdown on lunar surface successfully achieved - Live updates

India made history today as Chandrayaan-3 was able to successfully land on the south pole of Moon making India the first nation in the world to do so. India attempted and achieved a daring feat at precisely 6:03 p.m. today (August 23). The entire country has broken into joy and festivity after the prayers of over a billion souls in India were answered.

Hyderabad: A historic moment for India today as Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully completed an audacious soft landing on the Moon's surface today.

Watch ISRO's live telecast of the touchdown here:

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• 6:03 pm

India scripts history as ISRO lands spacecraft on the Moon. "We have achieved a soft landing on the moon. India is on the Moon," says ISRO Chief S Somanath.

• 5:59 pm

The vertical descent phase has begun and the lander module is about to land on the lunar surface. It has reached near the landing site and is just a few metres away from the Moon's surface

• 5:44 pm

The pivotal power descent of the Chandrayaan-3 project has started and with it, the rough-braking phase has begun and going fine, according to ISRO.

• 5:41 pm

Barely minutes away from the scheduled moon landing, ISRO chairman S Somnath and heads of key ISRO centres are seated at the ISTRAC mission operations centre MOX in Bengaluru, awaiting to witness the historic moment.

• 5:25 pm

Special screening of Chandrayaan-3's Moon landing: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) began the live stream of Chandrayan-3 landing at 5:20 pm. A look at ISRO live link documenting the historic moment on YouTube has over four million people glued to the channel and this increasing with the minute.

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research headquarters in Delhi is also screening Chandrayaan-3's soft landing on the Moon's surface. If Vikram Lander accomplishes a 'soft landing' on the Moon’s south pole, it will make India the only country to do so. Once the landing is successful, the rover (a small vehicle meant to move around on the Moon’s surface) will come out of the Lander.

• 5:20 pm

European Space Agency tracking lander module from three ground stations: Besides the scientists at the ISRO, officials at the European Space Agency are also involved in tracking the lander module of the Chandrayaan-3 mission which is just hours away from making a soft landing on the surface of the Moon, a senior scientist said on Wednesday.

• 4:50 pm

Top ISRO scientist on what happens after lunar landing: E S Padmakumar, Director, ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, explained the reason behind the plan to land the LVM3 rocket in the south pole region of Lunar Surface. He also gave an insight into what are the objectives once the landing is successful. "The conditions are difficult to land in the South Pole region. However, we have decided to land at the south pole exactly at 69.2 degrees south. We will explore for 14 days and payloads will study a variety of aspects including the formation of the Lunar surface, the elements present there, and surface chemical combinations. These inputs will shed light on information on the formation of the moon," Padmakumar said.

• 4:30 pm

Minister offers special prayers: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday participated in a special 'ardas at Delhi's Gurdwara Bangla Sahib for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3. Talking to reporters, Puri said that special ardas took place for the safe and successful landing of Chandrayaan-3. "Special ardas is taking place for the safe and successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, not just here but across the whole country," he said.

• 4:00 pm

Space expert explains 4 stages before lunar landing: Space and defence expert Girish Linganna spoke to ETV Bharat and explained what the stages of the last 20 minutes will be like for the all-important Chandrayaan-3 mission. Linganna said that power descent mode means it is an autonomous mode, where nobody has control over the lander, and it happens in four phases.

• 3.40 pm

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh digs out a bit of history about India's space journey in his social media post and said it all began on February 23, 1962, with the formation of INCOSPAR . "...thanks to the farsightedness of Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, along with the enthusiastic support of Nehru. The Committee comprised of top scientists from premier scientific institutions across the country coming together in a spirit of collaboration and teamwork. The Hindu covered the formation of INCOSPAR on page 6!" Ramesh posted on Site X (formerly Twitter).

• 3.10 pm

Vikram Sarabhai, founder of India's space program, remembered by children on momentous occasion: Kartikeya Sarabhai, son of a physicist and founder of India's space program Vikram Sarabhai, on Wednesday, said the Chandrayaan-3 project represents the "new India" and every citizen is proud of this project. In a tribute to Vikram Sarabhai, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has named Chandrayaan-3's lander as `Vikram'.

"It is a great day for all of us, not only Indians but globally because no one was able to reach the southern side of the moon. People had tried in the past but failed. There is a likelihood of water there in a different form," Kartikeya Sarabhai, an environmentalist, told PTI. Vikram Sarabhai's daughter and activist Mallika Sarabhai said the Indian moon mission is a step forward for the entire humanity.

• 3.05 pm

Farooq, Omar hopeful of successful moon landing of Chandrayaan-3: National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah on Wednesday expressed hope that Chandrayaan-3 will successfully complete its journey to the moon later in the day. "We are very hopeful that the journey of Chandrayaan-3 will be completely successful today. We are eagerly waiting for the pictures and videos from the part of the moon where no country has so far managed a softlanding," Omar Abdullah told reporters at the party office in Srinagar. His father and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah also lauded "our scientists" for doing "yeoman's service" to put India on the space map. "I and all of us are proud of our scientists who have done a yeoman's service to put India on the space map. Congratulations to everyone," Farooq Abdullah told PTI.

• 2.45 pm

ISRO all set to initiate ALS: Hours before the soft landing, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Wednesday said that it is all set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). A post on ISRO's official handle on X, formerly Twitter, read, "All set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS). Awaiting the arrival of the Lander Module (LM) at the designated point, around 17:44 Hrs. IST. Upon receiving the ALS command, the LM activates the throttleable engines for powered descent."

• 1.00 pm

Director of Nehru Science Centre, Pramod Grover said that India had been waiting for this day for long. "Ever since the launch of Chandryaan-3, all eyes are on it. Nehru Science Centre has made a lot of preparations. We will show a 3D model of the moon. This a facility where people can see even live data. We will show a few pictures of the moon and earlier lunar projects. We have a special program for children wherein around 50-60 of them will participate and make models of Chandrayaan. These children will be scientists of tomorrow," Pramod Grover was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

• 12.57 pm

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar exuded confidence that Chandryaan-3 is going to land on the moon. "The entire country is waiting for this great moment with bated breath. The entire world has its eyes on this huge leap in space by India. This will be not just ours but an achievement of the entire humanity. I pray for the success of this mission and congratulate the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and our scientists in advance. I also thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has encouraged and inspired scientists every moment," Manohar Lal Khattar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

• 12.54 pm

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev performed a Havan and Puja for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission. Ramdev along with his followers performed Havan in Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

• 12.53 pm

Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said that India has made a huge leap in the space sector. "All of us are awaiting the moment when the Chandrayaan-3 mission becomes successful. This will put India among the very few countries in the world that have made significant contributions to the space sector," Anurag Thakur, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, told reporters

• 11.16 am

Soil from Namakkal district has been given to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for all three missions of Chandrayaan. The soil in Namakkal is used as it is similar to the surface of the Moon.

• 11.12 am

Padma Shri awardee and former ISRO scientist Mylswamy Annadurai said that he is awaiting the successful landing of Chanderayan-3. "...So far so good and we expect as per plan 'A' today we must be able to land. Like anyone else, I am also largely awaiting. After the discovery of water by Chandrayaan 1, the world was trying to look at the moon differently," Mylswamy Annadurai was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

• 11.08 am

Former ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said that the last 20 minutes of descending from the lunar orbit to the lunar surface are going to be the most challenging for the Chandrayaan-3 Mission. "Everybody is anxiously looking forward to this great event. As far as the Indian space program is concerned, it is going to be the most significant milestone for planetary exploration...The last 20 minutes of descending from the lunar orbit to the lunar surface are going to be the most challenging moment in the history of this mission," G Madhavan Nair was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

• 11.06 am

International Sand Artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a miniature sand sculpture at Denver, Colorado in the United States, for the successful lunar landing of Chandrayaan-3.

• 10.18 am

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak saluted the scientists. "I want to give my best wishes & pray that Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing on the moon. The entire country is waiting. Under PM Modi's leadership India has progressed rapidly in every sector...I salute the scientists," Brajesh Pathak was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

• 9.20 am

Former ISRO director Dr Surendra Pal said that he was confident that the Chandrayaan-3 mission would do much better. "I am confident just like the ISRO scientists that we will do much better because a lot of changes have been done in comparison to Chandrayaan-2. A lot of algorithms have been changed. Absolute calibration is done. The Lander has the capacity to hover. The landing area has been increased from 2.5 km to 4 km," Pal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

• 8.49 am
  Prayers were offered across India and in the US for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan 3 Mission. Members of the Indian-American prayed at Om Sri Sai Balaji Temple and Cultural Center in Monroe, New Jersey. The community said: "It's a proud moment for all of our Indian community. Hopefully, everything will be okay. Best wishes to the Chandrayaan team." Sadhus also performed 'havan' in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

• 8.24 am
  Astrophysicist RC Kapoor says the world is watching keenly with their eyes peeled for Chandrayaan 3. "ISRO is one of the best space agencies in the world. We hope that we're successful in the soft landing. With this, ISRO will become the fourth agency to have done a soft landing (successful landing) on the moon"
• The groundbreaking venture, propelled by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is set to cement India's position among the pioneering space-faring nations, as it eyes becoming the first country to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's celestial companion.
• Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module stands as a testament to human ingenuity and determination. The LM, comprising the lander Vikram and the rover Pragyan, is poised to make history with its impending touchdown on the lunar terrain. The clock is ticking, and the world's attention turns to the Moon's south polar region, where this daring feat is scheduled to unfold at precisely 6.04 pm on Wednesday.
• If successful, Chandrayaan-3's landing will mark a monumental milestone for India, as it would become the fourth nation to master the intricate technology of soft landing on the lunar surface. Joining the ranks of the United States, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union, India's accomplishment will stand as a testament to its unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of space exploration.

• Scientific ambitions and lunar endeavours- Chandrayaan-3 is not merely a venture of conquest but a mission of science and discovery. Building upon the foundation of its predecessor, Chandrayaan-2, this follow-on mission carries a multifaceted objective. It aims to showcase the prowess of safe and soft-landing capabilities on the lunar expanse. Beyond that, it promises to revolutionize humans' understanding of the Moon through roving activities and in-situ scientific experiments that hold the potential to unveil secrets hidden within its ancient surface.
• Learnings from the past: From setback to resilience- Chandrayaan-3 is not ISRO's first foray into lunar exploration. The preceding Chandrayaan-2 mission, launched in 2019, faced a hurdle during its lunar phase when the lander 'Vikram' encountered anomalies in its braking system, leading to a crash on the lunar surface. This setback, however, served as a stepping stone for Chandrayaan-3's resurgence, driving the space agency to adopt a failure-based design approach that meticulously safeguards against potential challenges.
• Meticulous engineering and lunar journey- The Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission, initiated on July 14 aboard the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket, embarked on a 41-day voyage with the singular aim of reaching the lunar south pole. This historic mission is of even greater significance, as it unfolds mere days after Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft met an unfortunate end, crashing into the Moon while spiralling out of control.
• Countdown to '17 minutes of terror'- Amidst meticulous planning and precision engineering, the final leg of Chandrayaan-3's journey presents an adrenaline-pumping endeavour often termed as the "17 minutes of terror." During this crucial autonomous phase, the lander must execute a series of precisely timed engine firings, manage fuel consumption, and conduct intricate scans of the lunar terrain to ensure a safe landing, all in the span of a mere 17 minutes.
• ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said the landing process entails a daring manoeuvre of transitioning the lander from a horizontal to a vertical orientation as it hurtles towards the Moon's surface. This transformation requires intricate calculations and simulations to ensure a flawless execution—a lesson learned from the challenges faced during Chandrayaan-2's mission.
• A glimpse into the future: Rover's scientific expedition- Post-landing, the Pragyan rover will descend from the lander's belly, navigating the lunar landscape with a sense of purpose. Armed with advanced scientific payloads, including the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer and Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope, Pragyan is set to unravel the Moon's chemical composition and mineralogical secrets.

• Lunar journey into the unknown- The Moon's south polar region remains a tantalizing enigma, unexplored and untouched due to its unique challenges. Chandrayaan-3's exploration of this uncharted territory holds the promise of unveiling mysteries hidden within its polar expanse. The prospect of water presence in shadowed craters lends an air of intrigue, elevating the mission's significance. As the countdown to Chandrayaan-3's historic moment begins, the world watches with bated breath, and so do over a billion souls in India.