oppn parties Moon Landing: History In The Making

Story Of The Day

Why India Was Right to Stay Out of the Iran-US Imbroglio
OPINIONS : Strongly Expressed

April 18, 2026

People Are Talking About

Cyber Scams in India How They Work and How to Protect Yourself and Your Family

News Snippets

  • NCLT initiates bankruptcy proceedings against former Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot for defaulting on loans of Rs 6158cr as personal guarantor in two group companies
  • LIC approves 1:1 bonus share issue
  • Gold and silver futures also go down by 0.7% and 2.2% respectively
  • Stocks tumbled again on Monday as crude prices rose: Sensex went down by 703 points and Nifty by 207 points
  • Supreme Court refuses to cancel the land-for-jobs FIR against Lalu Prasad
  • The spectre of El Nino haunts India: IMD predicts 'below normal ' monsoon this year
  • Labour protest over increase in wages by 35% (as per Haryana example) turns violent in Noida, nearly 200 were detained by the police
  • Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said that the delimitation exercise must be carried out after the Census is complete
  • PM Modi says Parliament is on the verge of creating history as the Houses get ready to take up the women's reservation bills
  • Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said that TCS COO Aarthi Subramanian is conducting a thorough inquiry to establish facts and identify individuals involved in the sexual harassment allegations at the company's Nashik office
  • Asha Bhonsle laid to rest with full state honours on Monday in Mumbai
  • AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal once again approached the Delhi HC to request the recusal of a judge from his case
  • Candidates Chess: R Vaishali on the verge of creating history, but needs two wins - one with black pieces - against formidable opponents to emerge as the challenger
  • Rohit Sharma, who retired hurt in the match versus RCB, underwent scans for possible hamstring injury
  • IPL: Abhishek Sharma fails for SRH but Ishan Kishan (91) shines. Then, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fails for RR and SRH bolwers, especially unheralded Praful Hinge (4 for 24) and Sakib Hussain (4 for 24) win it for SRH. This was the first loss for table-toppers RR
Supreme Court questions Election Commission about SIR SOP and why logical discrepancy was introduced only in Bengal
oppn parties
Moon Landing: History In The Making

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2023-08-23 03:09:25

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

As Vikram, Chandrayaan-3's lander, approaches the moon for landing today shortly after 6pm, India stands on the brink of history. A successful landing will make India only the 4th nation, after the US, Russia and China, to achieve this. Once Vikram lands, it will release the rover Pragyan for further exploration, studies and experiments, which are the prime objectives of the mission. Isro has learned lessons from the crash landing of the Chandrayaan-2 lander and has fortified Vikram to withstand higher landing velocities. It has also made suitable modifications to ensure a smother and successful landing this time.

Isro chief S Somnath said that the overall process of landing will be done in 30 minutes but the exact time of landing will depend "on the systems and landing conditions". He said that depending on hazard detection, it will be decided whether to land at the first visible spot or look for a safer spot. The lander and the rover have been designed to function for one lunar day which is equal to 14 earth days.

Isro is being continuously supported by Nasa and European Space Agency (ESA) in this mission and their role will be vital in the landing process too. Their extensive tracking network has helped Isro immensely to track its spacecrafts when they are not viewed by its own antennas based in Byalalu, Karnataka. Today Nasa and ESA will help in communicating with the landing module during the final descent phase.

The nation waits expectantly as Isro seeks to add another feather in its deservingly well-decorated cap. 

Picture courtesy: Sky & Telescope

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

The Wangchuk Climbdown

The Wangchuk Climbdown

 World Cup Victory Is A Win For Gautam Gambhir's New Ecosystem

World Cup Victory Is A Win For Gautam Gambhir's New Ecosystem

In Depth

Why This Rare Death Sentence May Be Justified

Why This Rare Death Sentence May Be Justified

Editor's Pick

Vaibhav Suryavanshi Leads India To A Record Victory

Vaibhav Suryavanshi Leads India To A Record Victory
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.