Modi ISRO visit highlights: ‘Head of ISRO family…’- Scientist on meeting PM

As Chandrayaan-3 achieved a soft landing on the South Pole of the moon, making India the first country to reach that particular area, former ISRO chief K Sivan on Wednesday said that it is sweet news, for which they have been waiting for the last four years.

"We are really excited to see this grand success. For this, we have been waiting for the last four years. This success is sweet news for us and for the entire nation," K Sivan said.

Sivan was the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the time of the Chandrayaan-2 mission, launched in 2019. Read more

NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated ISRO on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the Moon. “Congratulations to India on being the 4th country to successfully soft-land a spacecraft on the Moon. We’re glad to be your partner on this mission,” the NASA chief wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Interestingly, NASA also helped ISRO in the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Other space agencies, including of Russia, UK and Europe also congratulated India on the historic feat.

Chandrayaan 3 lander was spotted on the Moon by the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter using its high-resolution camera, Isro said on Friday while sharing the photographs on social media. While the lander of Chandrayaan 2 crash-landed on the Moon in 2019, its orbiter has been gathering important data for the past four years.

Hours after the ‘Vikram’ lander of the Chandrayaan 3 mission successfully made a soft landing on the lunar surface, the orbiter of Isro's previous Moon mission captured the spacecraft on its camera, which has the best resolution anyone currently has around the moon.

“I spy you! 🙂” Isro posted on X. “Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter 📸photoshoots Chandrayaan-3 Lander!”

“Chandrayaan-2's Orbiter High-Resolution Camera (OHRC), -- the camera with the best resolution anyone currently has around the moon – spots Chandrayaan-3 Lander after the landing on 23/2³/23,” it added. Read more

Local Police and ISRO officials gathered outside the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network Mission Control Complex in Bengaluru where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet scientists of the ISRO team involved in the Chandrayaan-3 Mission.

Former director of ISRO K Sivan shared critical lessons that were learned from the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which had failed to achieve its target of soft-landing four years back. 

"Last time after the landing process, we had gone through the data...Based on that, some corrective measures were taken. Not only that, we did something more than what we corrected. Wherever the margins are less, we enhanced those margins...Based on the lessons we learnt from Chandrayaan 2, the system is going with more ruggedness..." the ex-ISRO chief told news agency ANI. Read more

The successful touch down of Chandrayaan-3 mission's lander on Moon's surface has got the world talking about the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The major stride by the space agency positioned India as the fourth nation to successfully carry out a soft landing on Moon and a first to land on the lunar south pole. Read more

Posters of the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 have been put up near Delhi's Palam Airport to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his two-nation visit to South Africa and Greece.

PM Modi departed from Greece and he will head straight to Bengaluru, Karnataka to meet scientists of the ISRO team involved in the Chandrayaan-3 Mission on Saturday.

Preparation underway at HAL airport in Bengaluru to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his two-nation visit to South Africa and Greece.

PM Modi will meet scientists of the ISRO team involved in the Chandrayaan-3 Mission.

A day after India scripted history with Chandrayaan 3's successful soft landing on the Moon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath on Thursday explained why they chose the Moon's South pole for landing. According to him, the South Pole has a “specific advantage with respect to being less illuminated by the sun.”

“We have gone closer to the South Pole which is 70 degrees almost. The South Pole has a specific advantage with respect to being less illuminated by the sun. There is a potential to have more scientific content," the ISRO chief told news agency ANI. Read more

On the heels of the success of the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing, India's space agency has set a date for its next mission - this time to study the sun. The Aditya-L1, India's first space observatory for solar research, is getting ready for launch at the country's main spaceport in Sriharikota, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told reporters at its satellite command centre this week, as scientists and crew celebrated the moon mission's success. Read more

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath on Thursday said both the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover of Chandrayaan 3 are working well and there will be further movements. He however, listed the challenges that lie ahead for the moon mission. Read more

Pragyan – the rover – will check the chemical composition of the lunar surface, examine the lunar soil and rocks. It will measure the ions and electrons density and the thermal properties of the lunar surface near the polar region. This will be the first of its kind as no other country ever ventured to the moon's south pole.

Both the Vikram and Pragyan will remain on the lunar surface. They are modeled to function under the sunlight and they will turn inactive after 14 Earth days/one lunar day amid extreme cold after sunset. But ISRO scientists have not ruled out the possibility of Vikram and Pragyan coming back to life when the sun again rises on the moon. In that case, it will be a bonus for India's moon mission.

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called up Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath from South Africa's Johannesburg to congratulate him on Chandrayaan-3's successful landing on moon and said he would soon visit them in Bengaluru to greet the entire team in person. Read more

Following Chandrayaan-3's monumental achievement of positioning India as the first country to successfully land on the Moon's southern pole, social media has been abuzz with the reappearance of an old video featuring ISRO chief S Somanath. In the video, the ISRO chief is seen dancing with his colleagues. The video was shared on X by a user on Wednesday night. The timing of the video's resurgence prompted online enthusiasts to conclude that it could be taken from a candid moment amid festivities that followed the historic Moon landing. The video was shared with the caption, “Chief Dr S. Somanath & team ISRO.” Watch more

Leading scientists and experts said this monumental accomplishment not only marks India's indelible imprint on lunar exploration but also demonstrates the prowess of human collaboration, determination, and cutting-edge technology.

Chris Hadfield, a Canadian retired astronaut, took to X (formally Twitter) to share how ISRO's Vikram lander took “two descent pauses” to let the cameras find a flat spot on the lunar surface right before its historic landing.

“This is what landing on the Moon looks like - so many potholes to avoid! Note the 2 descent pauses to let the cameras find a flat spot, before success. Well done @isro!,” Hadfield wrote sharing a video clip of the lander. Read more

While India made history with the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the south pole of the Moon on Wednesday, the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) created another record with its YouTube channel during the live streaming of the landmark event. With over 8 million concurrent viewers, the touchdown of Chandrayaan-3's lander module became the most-watched event on YouTube during live streaming. It even left behind the concurrent viewership of the football match between Brazil and South Korea during the World Cup 2022 quarterfinals, which had garnered 6.1 million views. Read more

Chandrayaan 3, India's third lunar mission, achieved a historic milestone by successfully landing on the moon's far side after a month-long journey through space. India became the first nation to position a rover near the southern pole, with the landing velocity well within test limits. Read more

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released the much-anticipated video of the Pragyan rover ramping down from the Vikram lander and walking on the lunar surface. Read more

Here is the detailed timeline of all the developments in the Chandrayaan 3 mission.

• July 6: ISRO announces Mission Chandrayaan-3 launch date of July 14 from Sriharikota's second pad.

• July 7: Successful vehicle electrical tests completed.

• July 11: Comprehensive 24-hour 'Launch Rehearsal' simulating the entire launch process concludes.

• July 14: LVM3 M4 vehicle launches Chandrayaan-3 into designated orbit.

• July 15: First orbit-raising manoeuvre successful, reaching 41762 km x 173 km orbit.

• July 17: Second orbit-raising manoeuvre places Chandrayaan-3 at 41603 km x 226 km orbit.

• July 22: Fourth orbit-raising manoeuvre establishes spacecraft in 71351 km x 233 km orbit.

• July 25: Another successful orbit-raising manoeuvre.

• August 1: Chandrayaan-3 inserted into translunar orbit (288 km x 369328 km).

• August 5: Successful lunar orbit insertion (164 km x 18074 km).

• August 6: Lunar orbit lowered to 170 km x 4,313 km.

• August 9: ISRO carefully moves the spacecraft's path lower in its orbit around the moon. It has achieved a lunar orbit of 174 km x 1437 km

• August 14: Chandrayaan-3 gets closer to the moon's surface in another controlled bringing it in a orbit of 150 km x 177 km

• August 16: The Indian spacecraft performs the fifth and final Moon-bound manoeuvre positioning itself in a near circular Lunar orbit of 163*153 km.

• August 17: The landing module, comprising the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover, gets separated from its propulsion system.

• August 18: Chandrayaan 3 successfully completed a 'deboosting' operation that reduced its orbit to 113 km x 157 km

• August 20: The Chandrayaan-3 will make the final orbit adjustment by reducing it to be around 134*25 km, the farthest and nearest point from the moon respectively.

• August 23: ISRO marked history with the successful landing of the Vikram lander. All the systems are performing as intended.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Indian Space Research Organisation's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Centre (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru's Peenya industrial area early morning on Saturday to congratulate the scientists for the successful descent of the Vikram lander on Moon's surface.

During his visit, PM Modi is expected to address the team of scientists involved in the ambitious unmanned lunar mission and discuss ISRO's future endeavours.

Traffic advisory for roads leading to the ISRO facility has already been released. Restrictions imposed on north Bengaluru roads leading to the facility, whereas, on east and central Bengaluru roads leading to HAL airport between 6:30 am and 9:30 am. Read more