World | India
Moon landing sparks celebrations in India
India rejoiced on Saturday at joining an elite club by planting its flag on the moon as the country's space agency released the first pictures of the cratered surface taken by its maiden lunar mission.
- AP
- Published: 22:33 November 15, 2008
New Delhi: India rejoiced on Saturday at joining an elite club by planting its flag on the moon as the country's space agency released the first pictures of the cratered surface taken by its maiden lunar mission.
A probe sent late Friday from the orbiting mother spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 took pictures and gathered other data India needs for a future moon landing as it plummeted to a crash-landing at the moon's south pole, said Indian Space Research Organisation spokesman B.R. Guruprasad.
The box-shaped probe was painted with India's saffron, white and green flag, sparking celebrations in the country that is striving to become a world power.
"The tricolour has landed," the Hindustan Times said in a banner headline, while The Asian Age proclaimed "India is big cheese." As India's economy has boomed in recent years, it has sought to convert its newfound wealth - built on the nation's high-tech sector - into political and military clout. The moon mission comes just months after it finalised a deal with the United States that recognises India as a nuclear power, and leaders hope the mission will further enhance its prestige.
"This momentous achievement shall be etched in the history of India as a grateful tribute to our scientific community for their resolute efforts to take India to a global leadership position," said Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress party.
To date only the US, Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China -and now India - have sent missions to the moon.
But while the celebrations conjured up images akin to that of the US flag unfurled on the moon by Apollo astronauts, India's flag is most likely scattered over a wide swath of the moon's Shackleton crater after the probe slammed into the surface at more than 3,100 miles (5,000 km) per hour.
The violent landing was planned and Indian scientists hope to study the images and data sent back by the probe during its 25-minute descent to prepare for a future 'soft' landing, Guruprasad told The Associated Press. It carried a video imaging system, a radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer.
India plans to follow the mission by landing a rover on the moon in 2011 and, eventually, with a manned space programme, though this has not been authorised yet.
Have your say
Are you impressed by India's space mission? Does the successful mission highlight the issue of overspending on space programmes by other countries? Are you aware of any experiment conducted in a space lab which helped further public health programmes? Tell us by filling in the comments form below.
Your comments
It is a really proud moment for all the indians as this is a great scientific achievement by our dedicated scientists.
Kishan Soni
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 10:00
Congratulations to all the scientists who participated in this mission. This is a great achivement by India.
Anil Kurup
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 09:01
I am proud to be an Indian
Arun Natarajan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 08:53
Yes, being a proud indian, being a patriot and keenly watching every advanced step it is taking, I am very much impressed and happy with the latest development.
Abdul Latheef
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 08:33
It is a great achievement for all Indians. My respect to our scientists.
Sameer
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 08:33
I am very proud to be an Indian and today my head is raised high.
Fakhru Al Deen Bootwala
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 08:22
As an Indian I am proud of my country today for its success in this moon mission. I congratulate all the scientists involved in thiis and hope it is just the start.
Sheen
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 08:20
India is adding one more feather in its cap.
Congratulations to those who contributed. Well Done India. We are very proud of you. I am proud to be an Indian.
K.Rajaram
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 08:09
I am definitely impressed but more specifically, I feel proud as a Indian. A country with other problems, still continue its pursuit up the ladder.
Asish Chakrabarti
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 08:00
Congratulation to ISRO. All the best.
Joy Daniel
Dubai,India
Posted: November 16, 2008, 07:57
It is a really great step.
Ravi Sankar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 07:52
Glad to here our country has developed fast that as Chandryan-1 landed successfully. I am proud of the enginners and all the staff who where involved
Sanjeev Balan
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 07:48
It is a giant step and a very proud moment for us.Good Luck to all the Indian scientists. We are proud of you.
Sunilkumar Biradar
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 07:22
We are all proud of and thankful to our scientists back home for this great moment in history.
Toms
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 07:21
I'm deeply impressed by the efforts made by our scientists.
Ishtyaq
Aligarh,India
Posted: November 16, 2008, 06:51
I think thid kind of money could be spent on solving Global Warming issues instead.
Alberto B. Marcos
Caloocan,Philippines
Posted: November 16, 2008, 06:00
The moon mission has demonstrated high technology with cost effectiveness. This is important for a country like India as this can generate great revenue to combat poverty.
Elam
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 16, 2008, 03:18
Anything good for mankind is to be supported.
Babu Cherian
Toronto,Canada
Posted: November 16, 2008, 01:35
Share this article
News Editor's choice
-
Africa segment at Dubai film festival
Productions feature interesting mix of genres tackling serious issues
-
Arafat death anniversary remembered
Palestinians mark five years since the death of leader Yasser Arafat
-
What to expect at the Dubai Airshow
We preview what types of aircraft to expect at the Dubai Airshow
