Chandrayaan-3 Moon Landing Live Updates: Isro shares images taken by Vikram lander prior to touchdown on Moon

Just when Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram’s thrusters died down after soft-landing on Moon, the ‘great Indian fake factory’ started firing on all cylinders. As Isro scientists waited for the right time to ramp down rover Pragyan from Vikram, netizens rolled out image after image of the two payloads on the lunar surface, which were widely shared online. One of them was picture perfect: A gleaming gold Vikram sitting pretty on the lunar landscape, with a blue Earth rising in the background. The ‘helpful’ caption said the photograph was shared by Nasa, US. Another ‘inventor’ went a step ahead and made a video of Vikram landing, complete with a pan shot of the spacecraft and a long shot of the thrusters kicking up lunar dust. On a notch less on the creative side, an image showed an imprint of the Indian national emblem and Isro’s logo on the dusty lunar surface, purportedly embossed by the tyres of rover Pragyan. While Isro has planned to leave such an imprint, the high-resolution image misled many to think it had already happened. Social media discussed how these marks will remain forever as there is no air on Moon to wipe them away.

A day after Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram touched down on Moon’s south polar region, Isro on Thursday switched on the payloads on Vikram and started moving Pragyan, the rover, on the lunar surface. “All activities are on schedule and all systems are normal. Rover mobility operations have commenced,” Isro said, adding that three of the lander payloads, Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA), Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA) and Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE), were turned on. The space agency had, on Sunday, activated the Spectro-polarimetry of HAbitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload on the propulsion module.

After concluding his two-nation visit today, from Greece Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head straight to Bengaluru, Karnataka on a pre-scheduled visit. He will meet scientists of the ISRO team involved in the Chandrayaan-3 Mission. After a 40-day journey into space, the Chandrayaan-3 lander, 'Vikram', touched down on the uncharted lunar South Pole on Wednesday evening, making India the first country to do so.

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Thursday released a short video with images of Moon clicked by lander Vikram prior to landing on Wednesday evening. Sharing a 2-minute video on X (formerly Twitter), the space agency wrote, "Here is how the Lander Imager Camera captured the moon's image just prior to touchdown". The lander imager camera captured images of the Moon's surface with craters during power descent.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday that the success of India's lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 is a milestone not just for the country but for global space research as well, as he thanked US Vice President Kamala Harris for her wishes on the historic feat. In a post on X on Wednesday, Harris said, "Congratulations to India for the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the southern polar region of the moon. It's an incredible feat for all the scientists and engineers involved. We are proud to partner with you on this mission and space exploration more broadly." To this, Modi replied, "Thank you for your warm wishes @VP @KamalaHarris. The success of Chandrayaan-3 is not just a milestone for India but for global space research. Collaborative spirit in space exploration accelerates our journey to progress."

As the nation celebrates the success of Chandrayaan-3, West Bengal Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution congratulating the scientists and all others associated with Isro, the premier space research organisation, for the smooth landing of lander module Vikram on the lunar south pole on August 23. Soon after the question-answer session, Speaker Biman Banerjee moved the resolution terming Isro's successful mission as a 'golden chapter' and said everybody should salute every scientist associated with the expedition. "The Assembly secretary will send this resolution to the ISRO through the state government," Banerjee said. (PTI)

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday said that all activities related to the Chandrayaan-3 Mission are on schedule and all systems are functioning normally. Taking to X (former Twitter), ISRO said, "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: All activities are on schedule. All systems are normal. Lander Module payloads ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE are turned ON today. Rover mobility operations have commenced. SHAPE payload on the Propulsion Module was turned ON on Sunday."

Following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, US Congressman Ro Khanna on Thursday congratulated India and said that it is a big moment for India at home and across the world. Ro Khanna told ANI, "This is a big moment for India at home and across the world. Representative Michael Waltz and I recently led a delegationwhere we saw the incredible developments and advances that India has made in STEM. Congratulations on the successful moon landing!" Chandrayaan-3 on Wednesday successfully performed a soft landing on the Moon. (ANI)

As the country cheers over India's successful moon mission, Kamaldeep Sharma (26), of Maggar Sahib village in Punjab's Patiala district has brought laurels for the state for being part of Chandrayaan-3 mission team. As a quality officer of LVM3 vehicle (rocket) in Bangalore division, Kamaldeep carried out quality testing of the rockets. Son of a small farmer, Kamaldeep Sharma, who joined the Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) last year after getting All India Rank 3, has been working as a quality officer of LVM3 vehicles in Bangalore division. He is also a a member for India's next 'Gaganyaan' mission that would take Indian astronauts for the first time in space from an Indian platform. "It was a team effort, and we all are working to make India proud. I am extremely happy that with my work, I was able to reach here and was able to give my contribution in this mission”, said Kamaldeep.

When Indian space agency scientists set out to design the Chandrayaan-3 moon mission, they knew they had one more chance to make history with a landing on the lunar south pole after a failed attempt four years ago.They also had to do it on a shoestring budget and ended up spending only Rs 6.15 billion or about $75 million on the mission. From managing costs on rockets to developing a built-in-India supply base, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) success with the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing shows how it has honed a system of doing more for less, officials, suppliers and analysts say.

Several babies born in Odisha's Kendrapara district shortly after India's Moon mission reached the surface of the Earth's natural satellite were named 'Chandrayaan'. At least four babies, three boys and a girl, who were born in the Kendrapara district hospital here on Wednesday evening were named so by their overwhelmed parents. "It was a double delight. Our baby was born a few minutes after the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon. We have decided to name the child after the lunar mission," said Pravat Mallick, father of one of those four babies. Anjana Sahoo, head nurse at Kendrapara government hospital, said, "All new mothers are interested in naming their children after Chandrayaan." (PTI)

Speaking to ANI a day after the ISRO put India in an elite club of nations with the successful conduct of its maiden lunar landing mission, the ISRO chief said, "Mission 'Aditya' is in the works and will be ready for launch in the first week of September. We are also planning a mission by the end of September or October to demonstrate our crew module and crew escape capability, which will be followed by many test missions until we launch our first manned mission to space (Gaganyaan), possibly by 2025." On the flawless touchdown of the 'Vikram' lander on the moon's south face, Somanath said the gamut of emotions he ran as the lander closed in on the lunar surface was hard to put in words. "It was a mix of joy, a feeling of accomplishment and gratefulness for all fellow scientists, who contributed to the success of this mission," Somanath said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, said that the success of Chandrayaan-3's soft landing on the South Pole of the Moon was not limited to one country but the success of mankind. PM Modi thanked South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa for his congratulatory message on Chandrayaan's successful landing and said that it was a matter of pride. "Friends, now my friend Ramaphosa has given a lot of praise for India's moon mission and I have been feeling this since yesterday, I am getting congratulations from everyone." Earlier, on Chandrayaan-3, the President of South Africa said, "...Yesterday we congratulated India on landing the lunar module on the Moon..."

The 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission had failed in its lunar phase when its lander 'Vikram' crashed into the surface of the Moon minutes before the touchdown following anomalies in the braking system in the lander while attempting a landing. Chandrayaan's maiden mission was in 2008.

The ISRO chief has said, "Mission 'Aditya' is in the works and will be ready for launch in the first week of September. We are also planning a mission by the end of September or October to demonstrate our crew module and crew escape capability, which will be followed by many test missions until we launch our first manned mission to space (Gaganyaan), possibly by 2025."

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday felicitated Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chief S Somanath after the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon’s lunar south pole. The Chief Minister also extended his wishes to all the scientists and staff who contributed to the success of the mission while visiting the ISRO centre at Peenya. Talking to the reporters after the visit, CM Siddaramaiah said, “I am very happy because our country has achieved this and it’s a historical achievement. Landing on the moon is not a small thing, it’s a very big achievement. They have been working for many years and nearly 500 hundred scientists were working on it.”

Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to be in space and Sunita Williams, an Indo-American NASA astronaut have lauded the Chandrayaan-3 mission, which helped the country become the first nation in the world to land near the South Pole of the Moon. Led by scientists at ISRO, the Vikram lander, aboard Chandrayaan-3, landed near the South Pole of the Moon on Wednesday after travelling about 3.84 lakh km for over 40 days.

India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully touched down on the lunar surface without any complications. Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman of the Indian Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), expressed profound enthusiasm for the successful landing. The mission represents a historic milestone for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), demonstrating the nation's capabilities in the field of space exploration. Dr Goenka said, “Chandrayaan-3 is set to embark on an extraordinary lunar journey, where its rover will traverse a distance of approximately half a kilometre on the moon's surface over the next 12 days, capturing vital images and data”

ISRO is slated to launch a three-day crewed mission into Earth's orbit by next year. It also plans a joint mission with Japan to send another probe to the Moon by 2025 and an orbital mission to Venus within the next two years.

Chandrayaan-3 was launched on a less-powerful rocket and had to orbit the Earth several times to gain speed before embarking on its month-long journey.Chandrayaan-3 has a cost of $74.6 million -- far lower than many missions from other countries and a testament to India's frugal space engineering.

Shares of companies related to aerospace and defence sectors continued to remain in the limelight on Thursday, with firms such as Centum Electronics rallying nearly 20 per cent, after the successful touchdown of Chandrayaan-3 mission's Vikram lander on the Moon. The stock of Centum Electronics zoomed 19.69 per cent, Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd rallied 17.30 per cent, MTAR Technologies jumped 10.32 per cent and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd climbed 2.69 per cent on the BSE.

The lessons learned from the failure of Chandrayaan-2 contributed to the success of India's third lunar mission, former space scientist with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) scientist, Nambi Narayanan, said after successful touchdown of the 'Vikram' lander on the lunar South Pole. Narayanan congratulated the scientists associated with the Chandrayaan-3 mission, saying, "Every failure of Chandrayaan-2 was addressed to. Let it be a satellite problem, stability problem or an additional requirement problem. All were addressed to and all were rectified.”

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Thursday sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the successful moon landing of the Chandrayaan-3.In a message, He said “the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 is a tribute to the people of India who have devoted their attention to scientific development since ancient times.” “I would like to applaud the head of the Indian Scientific Research Organisation (ISRO) and his team for their dedication that has made the mission possible. They have demonstrated India’s scientific and technological maturity.”

He attributed the accomplishment to the collective dedication of generations of ISRO leadership and scientists. Beginning with Chandrayaan-1 and progressing through Chandrayaan-2, Somanath acknowledged the vital contributions of the entire team involved in crafting both missions. As Chandrayaan-3 takes center stage in celebration, he emphasized the need to remember and express gratitude to those who played pivotal roles in shaping the foundation for this achievement in India's space exploration journey.

Associate Project Director of the Chandrayaan-3 mission Kalpana on Wednesday said that it was a memorable moment for her and for the whole team after the Vikram lander carrying the Pragyaan rover in its belly touched down on the lunar surface. "It is the most memorable moment for me and my team. This is what we have strived for the past so many years. We achieved our target," said Kalpana,

Pune-based heavy engineering firm Walchandnagar Industries Ltd (WIL) has a double reason to cheer after Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the lunar surface as some of the critical booster segments used in its launch vehicle have been manufactured and tested at the facility, the firm said. The firm in a release issued on Wednesday said it has been a critical part of the success trajectory of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the last 50 years and played a key role at the time of the launch of Chandrayaan-3.

After a historic soft landing by the Chandrayaan-3 on the southern polar region of the Moon, the Indian diaspora erupted in celebrations at Times Square in New York City.Members of the Indian diaspora were seen dancing to drum rolls and immersing in unbridled joy as the country became the first in the world to land on the uncharted lunar south face. "Congratulations to the people of India for the great achievement of landing on the Moon. We are just thrilled today," a woman from Canada said at Times Square.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Thursday praised India for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, describing it as "super cool." "Super cool!," Musk said, reacting to the successful launch. Also, he congratulated the country for the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon. "Congratulations India," he commented on one of ISRO's posts. Even before the successful landing, Musk had shown support for India's Moon mission by saying "Good for India.”

The ISRO had earlier said the 26 kg six-wheeled rover was scheduled to descend from the lander's belly, onto the Moon's surface, using one of its side panels as a ramp.The lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan) -- with a total mass of 1,752 kg -- are designed to operate for one lunar daylight period (about 14 Earth days) to study the surroundings there.

The Pragyan rover has rolled out from the Vikram lander and will now start moving around on the lunar surface, marking a successful next stage hours after Chandrayaan-3 made its historic landing on the Moon, ISRO sources said Thursday.