Chandrayaan-3: Lander's power descent to moon's south pole begins

NEW DELHI: Chandrayaan-3 mission’s soft-landing on the moon is being telecast live on the ISRO website with students across the country watching Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) and history being made.

Live actions of landing have been made available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV from 5.27 pm. The lander's descent has begun and it will take place in four phases.

Union Minister for Science and Technology is at CSIR headquarters in Delhi to witness the landing of Vikram lander on the Moon People across the country are glued to their screens to watch the success of India's third lunar mission. Special prayers were held at temples, mosques and gurudwaras for the success of mission which is crucial for ISRO’s future inter-plentary endeavours.. Chandrayaan-3 is expected to make a historic landing on Wednesday at 6.04 pm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is South Africa for the BRICS Summit, will join the live telecast online. ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14. A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it has been through a series of orbital manoeuvres been lowered closer to the moon’s surface.

The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, rover moving on the moon's surface, and in-situ scientific experiments. If successful, India will join the elite club of nations of China, the United States and Russia to achieve this feat, but India will be the only country in the world to land on the lunar south pole. Before India, only the United States, Russia and China have achieved a soft landing on the surface of the Earth's only natural satellite.