Chandrayaan-2 moon landing: Chandigarh students excited to witness 'historic moment'

With only a few hours' left for Chandrayaan-2's soft-landing on the lunar surface, school students from Chandigarh have expressed their delight and excitement over the historic achievement of ISRO.

Speaking to ANI, a group of students from Chandigarh said, "It is a historic moment for all of us. We are close to becoming the fourth country in the world to make the landing on the moon. It is also of great significance for the whole of the world as it has been sent to check the presence of water on the lunar surface. This is definitely a very proud day for the nation and we are glad to witness it."

The students were also all praises for the space agency's initiative which gave many youngsters a chance to witness the landing along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru.

"We are very thrilled by this venture of our space agency. They conducted a space-oriented quiz which gave the students a chance to watch the landing along with the Prime Minister himself", a student said.

"I wish I had been one of those students who will witness the history in making. It has attracted attention from the whole student community. This is indeed a great step to bring the students closer to space-related research which will help in evoking their interest in the space technology", another student added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be at the ISRO around midnight to watch the event. Over 60 school students from across the country who cleared an online space quiz last month have been selected to watch the soft landing of the mission with the Prime Minister.

The Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft will be the first Indian expedition to carry out a soft landing on the lunar surface. This mission will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to conduct a soft landing on the moon.

India's second mission to the moon was approved by the cabinet on September 2008, just before the launch of Chandrayaan 1.