Anurag Kumar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Telemetry, Tracking and Command Centre (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru’s Peenya industrial area early Saturday morning to congratulate the scientists on the successful landing of the Vikram spacecraft on the Moon’s surface.
During his visit, the prime minister is anticipated to address the scientists involved in the ambitious unmanned lunar mission and discuss ISRO’s future endeavors.
A traffic advisory has already been issued for the highways leading to the ISRO facility. Between 6:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., north Bengaluru roads leading to the facility are restricted, while east and central Bengaluru roads leading to HAL airport are restricted.
After an eventful 40-day voyage, the lander module made a successful soft landing on the lunar surface on August 23, as planned, making India the fourth nation to accomplish such a feat and the first to land on the unexplored south pole of the moon.
PM Modi joined from Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was attending the BRICS summit, during the touchdown of the Vikram spacecraft. During his virtual address, he stated, “When we witness such historic events, we feel tremendous pride. This is the dawn of India’s new era.”
The success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which was launched on July 14 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, by a Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM3) missile, represents another breakthrough in ISRO’s space endeavors. It included a propulsion module and a landing module.
The lander module consisted of a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan. Following a soft touchdown, the rover’s payload will conduct chemical analysis of the lunar surface on the ground. The rover and lander payloads are capable of conducting investigations there.
Wednesday marked the first moonwalk for the Pragyan rover, which descended from the Vikram lander to begin its mission. Using a two-segment slope, the rover rolled down onto the lunar surface without incident. The activities of the rover, which was equipped with a solar panel for power generation, were documented in multiple videos shared by ISRO later.
After the landing, the mission will continue for one lunar day, which is roughly equivalent to 14 Earth days.
ALSO READ : Pragyan prepares to explore the Moon as the dust settles.
Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-up mission to the Indian space agency’s second lunar mission, with the objective of demonstrating secure landing and roving capabilities on the moon’s surface.
Throughout its voyage, the Landing Imager Camera attached to the Vikram lander transmitted multiple images and video clips of the Moon from various angles. ISRO released a closer glimpse at the unexplored southern regions of the moon following the soft landing.
