"I am happy, my son worked hard," says Palanivel, father of Chandrayaan-3 project director Veeramuthuvel
Aug 23, 2023
Viluppuram (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 23 : P Palanivel, father of Chandrayaan-3 project director P Veeramuthuvel, on Wednesday celebrated the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 lander module on the moon’s South Pole and said that he is very happy and his son worked hard.
P Veeramuthuvel's father watched Chandrayaan-3's mission live feed from his Vilupuram home and cheered for the ISRO scientists for the successful landing on the Moon.
"Today Chandrayaan-3 very successfully landed. So this happiness goes to each and every person in India as well as Tamil Nadu. So I am very very happy. My son worked hard. As a father, I am sharing the happiness with you. I am very happy," Chandrayaan-3 project director P Veeramuthuvel's father told ANI.
The Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon’s South Pole on Wednesday evening, making India the first country to have achieved the historic feat and bringing to an end the disappointment over the crash landing of the Chandrayaan-2 four years ago.
After the lander Vikram of the country's third lunar mission made a safe and soft landing, the chief of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) S Somanath said, "India is on the Moon".
Officials at India's space agency ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru broke into applause after the Vikram began its powered vertical descent towards its landing site.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is attending the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg watched the live telecast and as soon as the touchdown happened he sported a big smile and waved the tricolour.
The countdown of the Vikram hovered at 150 metres, then 130 metres, and 50 metres and decelerated as it approached the moon's surface before finally touching down on the lunar surface.
As the Vikram lander carrying the Pragyaan rover in its belly touched down on the lunar surface, it marked a giant leap in India’s spacefaring journey providing a well-deserved finale to ISRO’s long years of toil.
This makes India the fourth country – after the US, China, and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface, it has earned a place in record books as the first to touchdown on the south side of Earth’s only natural satellite.
