The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday provided an update on the Chandrayaan-3, confirming the successful completion of two out of the three mission objectives. The agency revealed that the third objective, which involves conducting in-situ scientific experiments on the lunar surface, is currently in progress.
ISRO also informed that all the payloads on the Chandrayaan-3 mission are operating normally. The agency shared this information on social media platform ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter.
Excited for next few days: ISRO Chief S Somnath
ISRO Chief S Somnath expressed optimism on Saturday, stating that Chandrayaan-3 is on track to fulfill the majority of its scientific mission goals. He also conveyed the excitement within the ISRO team for the upcoming 13-14 days. He said that most of the scientific mission objectives are going to be met now as Lander and Rover are switched on.
“I understand that all the scientific data is looking very good. But we will continue to measure a lot of data from the Moon in the coming 14 days. And we hope that we will make a really good breakthrough in science while doing so. So we are looking excitedly for the next 13-14 days,” ISRO chief told ANI.
Earlier in the week, on August 23, India achieved a historic milestone when the Lander Module (LM) of ISRO‘s Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully made a soft landing on the lunar surface.
This achievement marked India as the fourth country in the world to accomplish such a feat and the first to land on the unexplored south pole of Earth’s natural satellite, the Moon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made significant announcements in relation to this achievement. He declared that the location of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander’s soft landing would be named “Shiv Shakti Point.”
Additionally, the site where the Chandrayaan-2 lander crash-landed on the Moon’s surface in 2019 would be referred to as “Tiranga Point.”
Furthermore, Prime Minister Modi announced that August 23, the day when the Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down on the lunar surface, would be celebrated as ‘National Space Day.’ This recognition underscores the importance of India’s achievements in space exploration and its commitment to advancing scientific knowledge in this domain.