Chandrayaan 3: 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' echoes in ISRO HQ in Bengaluru. Pics from inside

Chandrayaan 3 successfully touched the lunar surface, marking India as the first country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon's dark side, at the South Pole. This achievement triggered celebrations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters in Bengaluru, where the space agency's staff were joined by the media and other witnesses to celebrate this historic event. (LIVE updates on Chandrayaan-3 here)

Pics here:

The chants of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' echoed through the space center, while the people of Bengaluru joined in the celebration with a display of fireworks outside.

Soon after Chandrayaan-3 landed on Moon's south pole – a tough terrain – which was unable to achieve by any other nation till date, ISRO took to X (formerly Twitter) to share big news, saying, “'India, I reached my destination and you too!': Chandrayaan-3.”

“Chandrayaan-3 has successfully soft-landed on the moon!” ISRO further wrote.

People outside the headquarters were carrying Indian flags, chanting “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, as well as chanting “ISRO Ki Jai”.

What will Vikram lander and Pragyan rover do now?

After landing, the Lander Module's lander Vikram and rover Pragyan, will explore the Moon's surface for up to 14 Earth days, equivalent to one lunar day. The payloads on the lander will help carry out measurements of the thermal properties of the lunar surface near the polar region, measure seismic activity around the landing site, delineate the structure of the lunar crust and mantle, and aid in understanding the dynamics of the Moon.

The rover's payloads will conduct quantitative and qualitative elemental analysis, deriving chemical composition and inferring mineralogical composition to enhance the understanding of the lunar surface.