Osmania University, Birla Planetarium, and The Planetary Society were some of the places in Hyderabad that organised live streaming of the event.
India became the fourth nation to make a soft landing on Moon. (Supplied)
A historic moment captured the world’s attention on Wednesday, 23 August, when the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully touched down on the south pole of the Moon.
While lakhs of Indians watched the live telecast via the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official website and social media pages, a huge crowd gathered at the Tagore Auditorium at Osmania University in Hyderabad to witness a live broadcast.
Groups of students and people from all walks of life converged at the auditorium at 5 pm, awaiting the scheduled soft landing on the Moon at 6.04 pm.
As the Vikram lander started its descent from an altitude of 30 km, the audience seated in the auditorium began shouting slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “ISRO Zindabad”.
The excitement of the audience and the volume of their cheers increased exponentially as the lander’s altitude decreased.
There was an extra pinch of enthusiasm when Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the live broadcast from Johannesburg in South Africa.
There was a palpable air of tension during the final moments of the landing, given the unsuccessful attempt of Chandrayaan-2 in 2019.
As Chandrayaan-3 touched down, the audience rose to their feet to celebrate the massive achievement of India landing its rover on the Moon — the fourth country to do this and the first to land on the unexplored south pole of the Moon.
Chandrayaan 3 | Students and visitors celebrate and raise slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' at Osmania University in Hyderabad as the ISRO's third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 makes a successful landing.#Chandrayaan3 #ISRO #Jaihind #Softlanding #Moon #PMModi #India pic.twitter.com/CpCmjPQfLQ
— Humans of Hyderabad (@HumansofHyd) August 23, 2023
Students in Hyderabad celebrate the Chandrayaan-3 landing. (Deepika Pasham/South First)
A student from the Department of Journalism at Osmania University told South First, “It is a great opportunity to view the Chandrayaan-3 successful landing. We felt proud as Indians, especially as the final moments were arriving. This date — 23 August, 2023 — will remain a favourite as we got to experience it live.”
A student from the Astronomy Department said, “An astronomical centre should come up in Hyderabad or any place in Telangana. This will help the students studying astronomy to understand the subject and will have many job opportunities. It will also help to assist in the space projects.”
A group of students waving the Indian flag in front of Osmania University told South First, “This is an achievement for the whole country and we believe that ISRO will come up with many more such space projects and serve as an example for many other developing countries.”
Speaking to South First, Shanti Priya, the head of the Astronomy Department at Osmania University, said that space education was gaining popularity.
“People are interested in it. The only thing is to recreate that interest and encourage students to pursue this stream,” she said.
The Planetary Society, based in Hyderabad, organised a special session for the live-streaming of the Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing.
The event was held at the Press Club in Hyderabad where awareness of various aspects of Chandrayaan-3, like Earth-bound manoeuvres, translunar injection, lunar trajectory, lunar orbit insertion, and Moon-bound manoeuvres, which were essential to the mission’s journey, were discussed.
Student experts from various educational institutions participated. They explained about altimeters, velocity meters, and inertial measurement instruments, which were used by ISRO, at the event.
The school students were guided through the crucial 18 minutes of the power descent profile during and before the touchdown.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan witnesses the Chandrayaan-3 landing. (Deepika Pasham/Twitter)
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan observed the live stream of Chandrayaan-3 landing at the Birla Planetarium.
Post-landing, the Governor congratulated ISRO for India’s historic and successful mission to the Moon.
“Today is a joyous and promising occasion for the entire nation, marking another important milestone in competing with the world’s leading countries in the fields of science and space technology. This achievement takes us a step closer to realising the goal of Amrit Kaal,” she said.
“I am delighted to have witnessed the Chandrayaan-3 Moon landing from the renowned Birla Science Museum and Planetarium today,” she added, conveying her regards to all the scientists and the entire ISRO team.
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