Yes, We Have Overcome

We are on and over the moon

Our nation’s footprints

Marked with pride

On the Lunar soil

Will now remain there

Forever 

For millions of years, they will stand 

As a testament

To untiring and determined efforts

Of the brilliant brains of our country

Making every Indian proud

For eons to come

Jai Hind

India has been

And will always continue to be

On top of the world

And now due to the sincere efforts of ISRO on the moon too

Yes dear friends,

The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 was a historic moment for India, which has proved beyond limits our unmatched capabilities in space exploration and commitment towards scientific excellence.

And this history was made on the 23rd of August at 6:03 p.m. precisely, when after its 40-day journey into space, the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Vikram,  set its foot on the South pole of the Lunar soil, in the same region where its predecessor Chandrayaan-1 had discovered the presence of water molecules, making India the first country to achieve this feat and an integral part of the elite space club.

“CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION : INDIA,

I reached my destination and you too!”:

Chandrayaan-3 —

—Was the message that made those anxious faces smile and the whole country dance with joytoo

As Chandrayaan-3 team at MOX, ISTRAC received this message, the celebrations began which spread like wildfire all over the country.

From the elites to chai valaas, everyone was seen enjoying that moment. Crackers being burst, people dancing to patriotic songs. It all felt as if we had won something invincible.

And why not?

After all this is the truth, for the south polar region had been termed as The Unventured Dark Zone, which wouldn’t be easy to conquer.

All the space agencies have been eyeing this region for decades but none has been successful.

So India has won the race and conquered the unconquerable and proved its competence once again to the world.

Though with every step that our spacecraft was taking toward the moon, and with every tweet coming in from ISRO, we were becoming more and more sure about success but still with every success the word of caution about how space or moon’s sphere of gravity for that matter would react to the interference couldn’t be guessed, was always attached.

And the real test of the mission began during the last leg of landing, but ISRO was extra cautious this time and during the high risk 20 or 17 minutes before landing.

The whole process had become autonomous after ISRO initiated the Autonomous Landing Sequence (ALS) allowing Vikram to take charge, Vikram successfully ignited its own engines at the right time and right altitudes and using its on-board computers and logic identified a favorable spot for its soft-landing.

Then just after the lander landed successfully, the focus moved on to the Rover securely positioned in it. The scientists at MOX, ISTRAC readied to roll out the rover, once the dust settled down.

As the country was busy celebrating this marvelous scientific feat achieved by our scientists, Pragyan stealthily slid down from the ramp of the Lander of the Indian spacecraft within hours of its historic touchdown in the territory that holds reserves of frozen water and minerals

INDIA TOOK A WALK ON THE MOON said ISRO as it received the message :

“CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION. Chandrayaan-3 Rover to MOX, ISTRAC, Moon Walk Begins!”.

ISRO tweeted that the six-wheeled solar powered Pragyan Rover has begun its moonwalk on the lunar surface and will move around this unmapped region and conduct experiments during the next fourteen days including in-situ chemical analysis and mineral composition of the Lunar Soil through its payloads LIBS and APXS and transmit images and scientific data during the course of its journey.

ISRO tweeted that all activities were going as per schedule, all the systems were normal and the lander payloads ILSA, RAMBHA, and chASTE had been turned on. Rover Mobility operations were also going as pre-determined and the SHAPE payload of the propulsion module had already been turned ON on Sunday.

ISRO also said that out of the three, two missions viz. demonstration of a safe and soft landing and that of Rover roving on the lunar surface have been successfully accomplished.

The third mission is underway and the rover is conducting all the experiments as desired and all the payloads are performing nominally, it further tweeted.

This mission will gather invaluable data to help us understand the dynamics of the moon and help us know how to utilize those resources so that we can ultimately establish human settlements on the moon. This region especially can be a potential lab for future interplanetary missions too.

The lander payloads will measure surface plasma comprising of ions and electrons, thermal properties near polar regions, seismicity around landing site and will try delineating the structure of lunar crust and mantle.

Pragyan’s payloads will do quantitative and qualitative elemental analysis thus helping in understanding the lunar surface in a much better way.

Propulsion module’s payload SHAPE is designed to probe a variety of exo-planets to prove the presence of life.

“Finally our prayers came true”, said ISRO former chief, K. Sivan, as he told that he didn’t leave for home after landing but waited for Rover to come out and start its operations.

Crafted meticulously, Pragyan also bears the monumental responsibility of leaving behind imprints resonating with Indian essence.

Along with its lunar expedition, it also carries the privilege of etching India’s emblem and ISRO’s logo on the moon’s surface, symbolizing India’s unwavering commitment towards scientific advancement and space exploration and serving as a reminder of our country’s technological prowess.

What makes Pragyan more special is that its powerful eyes that will traverse the crater filled lunar surface have been developed by an Indian start-up. Omnipresent Robot technologies, Noida that had been working closely with ISRO for Chandrayaan series had developed Perception Navigation Software for Pragyan.

According to the latest tweets Pragyan has successfully traversed a distance of 8 meters and all the payloads of both the Lander and Rover are working nominally.

“Chandrayaan-3’s success is a triumph of Indian innovation, human capital and capabilities which will take India further”, said former NASA official Mike Gold. He also added that the use of relatively less amount of resources makes this accomplishment extra special.

Make in India has also got a shot in the arm after ISRO breaks the ground as this remarkable feat has opened new avenues for the country’s space program. Shares of Indian space sector companies rallied following successful completion of the lunar project. The government too has focussed heavily on indigenising the space program, decreasing its dependence on foreign manufacturers.

Congratulating the team of scientists at ISRO, PM Modi said, “India’s successful moon mission is not India’s alone. Our approach of one earth, one family, one future is resonating across the globe and the Moon mission is based on the same human centric approach. So this success belongs to all of humanity.”

PM Modi also announced that the landing site of Vikram would be named “Shiv Shakti Point” while the site where Chandrayaan-2 had crash-landed in 2019 would be known as “Tiranga Point”.

Meanwhile videos have been released of our proud Pragyan roaming around The Shiv Shakti Point which makes us feel so ecstatic.

So friends with this we also come to an end of a journey that we started on the 15th of July after Chandrayaan-3’s successful landing today.

I would like to thank you all for going through these technical blogs so passionately and patiently and keeping my morale high with your responses.

Honestly it was those responses that kept me going in spite of many hindrances that came my way which would have otherwise forced me to abort my mission midway but for your approach I kept going and I too reached my destination, thanks to you all and The Mommaclan for promptly publishing the articles as and when I submitted.

Next India too has a lot of missions ahead, the first being ADITYA L-1, scheduled for launch in September followed by Mangalyaan -2 to Mars, Venus mission, and the most ambitious Gaganyaan, India’s first human mission to space so we’ll keep meeting as ISRO keeps on taking these giant leaps with more technical blogs.

Amen.

Hoping to receive the same love as you all showered on these series.

Jai Hind.

And yes will definitely meet after the mission becomes 100% successful and all the experiments have been conducted and results analyzed.

Till then

Take care

Lots of love 

-Ashu Verma Chaubey