The head of the Catholic Church in India on August 23 joined the nation’s leaders to applaud the Indian Space Research Organization for the success of the country’s third lunar exploration mission.
On the same day, when Chandrayaan (moon craft)-3 successfully landed on the lunar surface, India created history as the first country to land on the moon’s South Pole.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Indians and space scientists for the achievement. “India will remember this day forever,” Modi said after virtually witnessing the landing attempt from South Africa where he is attending the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Summit.
“I heartily congratulate ISRO, its scientists for this unprecedented feat. I may be in South Africa but my heart has always been with the Chandrayaan mission,” he added.
“No other country has been able to land on this side of the moon before; this will change all narratives and stories about the moon. We are witness to the new flight of new India. New history has been written,” the prime minister said.
Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, conveyed to the ISRO the “warmest congratulations” from the entire nation on the remarkable achievement of the successful landing of Chandrayaan 3 on the lunar surface.