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Chandrayaan 3

Posted on: August 24, 2023 | Back | Print

Press Release

Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on the Moon

On August 23, India’s third mission to the moon achieved a soft-landing on the south pole of the moon. The lander then disembarked a rover cart, making India only the fourth nation to land on the moon, “explore” its surface, and the first to touch down in the polar region of the moon. The budgeted cost of the Chandrayaan-3 mission is US $ 75 million, significantly less than other, similar missions – thus cementing India’s space agency’s decades- old reputation for high capability at lowest cost.

2. On this occasion, Prime Minister Modi said “India’s successful moon mission is not India’s alone. This is a year in which the world is witnessing India’s G-20 Presidency. Our approach of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ is resonating across the globe…. Our moon mission is also based on the same human-centric approach. Therefore, this success belongs to all of humanity.”

3. In his congratulatory tweet, Foreign Secretary of the UK, the Rt. Hon. James Cleverly MP described this as “a historic moment”, sending, “congratulations to India for the first ever landing on the moon’s South Pole. An extraordinary achievement by the Indian people”. Lord Chancellor the Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC MP described Chandrayaan’s landing on the moon as “a stunning achievement, of which the whole nation can be rightly proud!”. Security Minister the Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat termed it as a “fantastic achievement by India” and congratulated all those who made this possible.

4. The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon marks a significant milestone in three major programmes of ISRO: satellite fabrication and control, launch vehicles, and planetary exploration. India has set ambitious goals for the future of space exploration. ISRO is soon going to launch the ‘Aditya L-1’ mission for a detailed study of the Sun and venus is also one of ISRO’s upcoming scientific goals. As Prime Minister Modi observed at this occasion, “India is proving again and again that the sky is not the limit”. He highlighted Mission Gaganyaan – ISRO’s first first human space flight mission – preparation for which are currently ongoing.

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London

August 24, 2023