Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday was the first to congratulate the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successfully landing Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon.
PM Modi, who was in Johannesburg for the BRICS Summit 2023, watched the Vikram Lander touch down on the Lunar sirface virtually from South Africa.
He hailed ISRO for its historic achievement and then called up the Indian space organisation chief S Somnath to congratulate him.
The Prime Minister also reminded ISRO chief S Somanath of how his name is related to Chandra, which is the Hindi word for Moon.
"Aapka to naam Somanath hai, aur Somnath to naam chandra se juda hua hai (Your name is Somanath and the name is linked to the moon ," PM Modi said on the phone, a video of which is going viral on social media.
Somnath means "Lord of the Soma" or "moon".
Watch the video of interaction here:
"India is on the Moon," announced ISRO chief S Somanath as Chandrayaan 3 lander module Vikram made soft and safe landing.
"Success of Chandrayaan-3 gives us the confidence to undertake more challenging future missions," Somnath said.
"This is the work of a generation of ISRO leadership and scientists. This is a journey we started with Chandrayaan-1, continued with Chandrayaan-2, and all the team that contributed to building Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2 should be remembered and thanked while we celebrate Chandrayaan-3," S Somanath said.
In anticipation of this monumental lunar landing, festivities and prayers resonated fervently across the nation. The historic event is being broadcasted live on ISRO's website. The Chandrayaan-3 mission was initiated on July 14 from Sriharikota.
Initiating its descent, the Vikram lander approached the moon's surface at a velocity of 1.68 km per second. Subsequently, it decelerated before commencing a powered vertical descent onto the lunar terrain.
