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| Celebrations at Satish Dhawan Space Centre mission control |
Chandrayaan-3 set its sights on becoming the pioneer in landing on a lunar surface region believed to be enriched with deep craters containing water ice.
Achieving this feat six weeks after its launch from a spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, the spacecraft's touchdown was met with jubilant cheers and applause from mission control at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
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| Chandrayaan-3 landing on moons surface |
During the historic moment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined a conference call at the space center, proudly waving an Indian flag as the spacecraft gently touched down.
In an address to the Space Research Organisation and the global community, Prime Minister Modi declared, "This is the heartbeat of 1.4 billion people. This is the new India, the new beginning, the new thinking of the new efforts.
"This is a feature of the shine of India - we made a promise and we made it true on the surface of the moon."
"This is a historic moment, and for every Indian, we are all very proud."
Scientists are particularly intrigued by the potential of water ice, as it could serve as a vital resource for fuel, oxygen, and drinking water. This mission paves the way for establishing the groundwork for a prospective permanent lunar base.
India's success comes in the wake of Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft crashing into the moon in its endeavor to reach the uncharted lunar south pole before India.
Previous endeavors by India encountered setbacks due to the challenging landscape of the south pole, marked by its rugged terrain.