Google Doodle celebrates ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 landing on Moon's south pole

CHENNAI: Celebrating India's lunar mission Chandrayaan-3's successful soft landing on the Moon's south pole on Wednesday, Google released a new doodle on Thursday depicting the landing.

The animated doodle features the Vikram lander circulating the moon and subsequently, landing on its south pole. The Pragyan rover then comes out of it and starts exploring the lunar surface while the Moon is shown looking pleased with the achievement.

"You'll catch us smiling every time we open the Google homepage today. Here's celebrating the historic feat by @isro 's #Chandrayaan3 and the first landing on the moon's south pole, with this #GoogleDoodle," Google India posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Google India congratulated ISRO and said that lunar landings are no easy feat and only the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union have completed soft landings on the moon — but no country has made it to the southern pole region before now.

"The moon’s south pole has been an area of heightened interest for space explorers as they suspected the existence of ice deposits located inside permanently shadowed craters. Chandrayaan-3 has now confirmed this prediction to be true! This ice offers the potential of critical resources for future astronauts such as air, water, and even hydrogen rocket fuel," wrote Google Doodle in a blog post.

Read: DT Explains: What caused the Chandrayaan-2 mishap?

India's ambitious lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down near the Moon's south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country to be the first to land on the moon’s south pole and the fourth to do a soft landing on the Moon.

After scripting history, ISRO posted on its official X handle, "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: 'India, I reached my destination, and you too!': Chandrayaan-3." (sic)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated scientists from the ISRO stating, “The success belongs to all of humanity… It will help moon missions by other countries in the future. I’m confident that all countries in the world can aspire for the moon and beyond. The sky is not the limit!”

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was launched on July 14, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota Range, Andhra Pradesh.

Earlier in the day, ISRO said that the rover Pragyan ramped down from Vikram lander, and India took a "walk on the moon".

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