Stalin dials Chandrayaan-3 director P Veeramuthuvel after mission success

As Chandrayaan-3 landed successfully on the South Pole of the moon, making India the first country to reach that region, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday dialled Chandrayaan-3 project director P Veeramuthuvel and congratulated him.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 landed successfully after a 40-day journey starting from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also dialled Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath from South Africa's Johannesburg to congratulate him and said he would soon visit them in Bengaluru to greet the entire team in person.

"Somnath Ji, your name is Somnath, which is associated with the moon, and therefore your family members will also be very happy today. Many many congratulations to you and your entire team from my side," PM Modi said in the telephone conversation.

"Please convey my greetings to everyone. If possible, I would personally greet you very soon," he further said.

The Prime Minister, who is in South Africa for the BRICS Summit, joined the live telecast of Chandrayaan-3 landing online.

India's success in landing the spacecraft on the Moon's south pole comes days after a Russian probe Luna-25 crashed in the same region.

Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft put down the Vikram lander on the lunar surface, descending and tilted to a horizontal position ahead of landing.

The Chandrayaan-3 mission is the follow-up to the Chandrayaan-2 mission of 2019 when the Vikram lander crashed into the lunar surface.

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.