Chandrayaan-2 lift-off shows prowess of our scientists, every Indian immensely proud: PM Modi

The launch of Chandrayaan-2 illustrates the prowess of our scientists and every Indian is immensely proud, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, hailing the successful launch of the country's second mission to the moon. The Rs 978 crore lunar mission aimed at landing a rover on unchartered Lunar South Pole was lift off this afternoon with the country's most powerful geosynchronous launch vehicle successfully injecting the spacecraft in the Earth orbit. The 43.43m tall three stage rocket GSLV-MkIII-M1 blasted off into cloudy skies at about 2.43 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Minutes after, PM Modi took to Twitter, praising the prowess of the Indian scientists and the determination of 130 crore Indians to scale new frontiers of science. The prime minister posted a couple of pictures of himself watching the launch of Chandrayaan 2 and captioned these as - "Special moments that will be etched in the annals of our glorious history! Every Indian is immensely proud today"!

"Indian at heart, Indian in spirit! What would make every Indian overjoyed is the fact that #Chandrayaan2 is a fully indigenous mission. It will have an Orbiter for remote sensing the Moon and also a Lander-Rover module for analysis of lunar surface," he wrote in another tweet.

READ | What 'Missile Man of India' APJ Abdul Kalam predicted about 'Chandrayaan'

"Chandrayaan2 is unique because it will explore and perform studies on the south pole region of lunar terrain which is not explored and sampled by any past mission. This mission will offer new knowledge about the Moon," the prime minister said in a series of tweets.

#Chandrayaan2 is unique because it will explore and perform studies on the south pole region of lunar terrain which is not explored and sampled by any past mission.

This mission will offer new knowledge about the Moon.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 22, 2019

"Efforts such as Chandrayaan-2 will further encourage our bright youngsters towards science, top quality research and innovation. Thanks to Chandrayaan, India’s Lunar Programme will get a substantial boost. Our existing knowledge of the Moon will be significantly enhanced," he added.

READ | Original NASA Moon-landing videos sell for THIS amount at auction: Details inside

The lift-off comes a week after the earlier launch was called off on July 15 following a technical snag observed during the propellant filling stage. The injection of the Chandrayaan-2 into the Earthorbit marks the successful accomplishment of the first phase of the ambitious mission that will take about 48 days to land on the Moon surface.

The launch took place at the end of a 20-hour-countdown that started at 6.43 pm on Sunday after Indian Space Research Organisation scientists rectified the glitch that prompted them to call of the earlier launch.

READ | Chandrayaan-2 Vs Chandrayaan-1: How two lunar missions of ISRO are different?

The three-component Chandrayaan-2 comprising an orbiter, a lander and a rover will undergo 15 crucialmanoeuvres before landing on the moon, expected by the firstweek of September, ISRO said.

Billed as the most complex and prestigious missionundertaken by the ISRO since its inception, Chandrayaan-2 willmake India the fourth country to soft land a rover on thelunar surface after Russia, the United States and China.