Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced today on X, previously known as Twitter, that Chandrayaan-3's Pragyan rover has rolled out from the Vikram lander and is on the lunar surface.
"Chandrayaan-3 ROVER: Made in India, Made for the MOON! The Ch-3 Rover ramped down from the Lander and India took a walk on the moon! More updates soon," the space agency said.
The news came hours after Chandrayaan-3's Vikram lander successfully completed a soft landing on the Moon's south pole.
India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 landed on the lunar south pole at 6:04 p.m. on Wednesday, making it the first nation to accomplish so and achieving a significant advancement for its space programme. This moved India into the elite club of four.
ISRO announced shortly after the landing that the lander Vikram's command centre in Bengaluru and the communication channel between them had been established. The first photograph of the lunar surface upon landing was also released by the space agency.
Additionally, the space agency released photos of the lunar surface acquired by the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera during this evening's descent, which started at 5:45 p.m.
According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, humankind as a whole shares in India's accomplishment in reaching the Moon.
Modi praised scientists for their work and stated that the moon mission's success has sounded the trumpet for India to become a developed country. Modi virtually joined from South Africa to watch the space odyssey's conclusion.
The success of Chandrayaan-3, according to ISRO Director S Somanath, has given Indian space scientists the courage to take on more difficult missions in the future. "We have achieved soft landing on Moon. India is on the Moon," he said minutes after ISRO achieved the feat.
