Not Just Landing, ISRO Chief Says These Were Most Difficult Parts Of Moon Mission

Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed on the Moon's surface at 6.04 pm Wednesday evening - a feat matched only by Russia (then the Soviet Republic), the United States and China - guaranteeing India pride of place in the global space race. Chandrayaan-3's nearly 400,000 km journey to the Moon culminated in a nerve-wracking final 20 minutes - the 'power descent' phase, which is an automated landing sequence carried out by the lander. As the minutes ticked by - and the altitude counter on the live feed from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Mission Control near Bengaluru dropped slowly and steadily - a billion Indians' continued praying in unison, guarding the Vikram lander on its safe descent.