Jeff Bezos is also the founder of an aersospace manufacturer named Blue Origin. (Reuters)
All eyes are on ISRO's ambitious Chandrayaan 2 mission today as India aims to create history by becoming the first nation to reach closest to the moon's south pole. Joining millions of Indians rooting for the prestigious mission's success is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who tweeted an encouraging message for India in its big moment.
"Rooting for team India. Good luck, India," the American technology entrepreneur tweeted today.
Jeff Bezos is also the founder of an aersospace manufacturer named Blue Origin. In May, he unveiled a lunar lander that he said would be used to transport equipment, and possibly human beings, to the south pole of the Moon by 2024.
With Chandrayaan 2, India is aiming to become the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to land a spacecraft on the moon.
Chandrayaan 2's Moon lander Vikram that separated from its orbiting mothership has already performed two manoeuvres to lower its altitude for a perfect touchdown between 1:30 am and 2:30 am today.
The rover Pragyan will roll out from the Moon lander between 5:30 am and 6:30 am, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. It will carry out thorough mapping of the Moon's resources, looking for the presence of water and clicking high-resolution images as well.
The tricky journey of 35 km, till the lander and the rover land on the moon's surface without any harm, will be "15 minutes of terror" for top scientists at ISRO.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at ISRO'a headquarters in Bengaluru to watch the event. Over 60 high school students across the country who cleared an online space quiz last month will watch the soft landing of the mission with the Prime Minister.