Chandrayaan 3 Moon Landing: Indian-Americans Eagerly Await Historic Lunar Mission

New York: As India prepares to land its third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon's south pole on Wednesday evening, the Indian-American community here is filled with excitement and anticipation. Many of them believe that the mission will establish India as a global leader in space technology and inspire millions of young minds to pursue science, physics and astronomy. Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM), which consists of the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan), is scheduled to touch down on the lunar surface at 6.04 pm, making India the first country to explore the unexplored region of Earth's only natural satellite.

"I am very excited about what Chandrayaan-3 can achieve for us," news agency PTI quoted Sandeep Daga, a New York-based commodity trader and Physics enthusiast as saying. He said that Chandrayaan-3 will boost India's space programme and the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). "It will propel India as a global leader in space technology and it will inspire millions of kids to take up science, physics and astronomy as their area of pursuit. That's the way to go," he said.

Daga is among the many Indian-Americans who are following Chandrayaan-3's countdown to land on the Moon later today, joining the elite club of nations that have landed a rover on the moon. So far, only the US, China and the former Soviet Union have achieved this feat.

"I am very excited about Chandrayaan-3. We will be only the fourth country in the world to land a rover on the moon," Daga said. He called the lunar mission a "moment of pride for India? and highlighted its huge economic impact.

"We know that the space economy is worth more than half a trillion dollars every quarter. So it is a pretty big deal. I see (Chandrayaan-3) as a vindication of India's technological prowess. And what's even more amazing is that we have achieved this mission at a cost of less than USD 75 million, which is much lower than what a Hollywood space movie would cost today," he said.

"With this, we are firmly in the race to make a permanent establishment on the moon". Daga also pointed out that India will be the first country to land a rover on the lunar south pole, which is more challenging and rewarding than landing on the equator.

"All prior missions have landed on the equator of the moon where the surface is quite flat and smooth. Trying to land it on one of the poles is extremely difficult because they have a large number of craters and mountains and it becomes technically quite challenging to land safely," he said.

Daga said that Chandrayaan-3 can provide valuable data about water at the southern pole of the moon, which can be crucial for having some permanent presence on the lunar surface.

"As a physics enthusiast, I'm quite excited about the fact that Chandrayaan-3 is going to scan the surface and give us more insights into the constituents of the Moon? including how Earth's natural satellite was formed.
"I am really looking forward to answers to some of these questions," he said, hoping that Chandrayaan-3 will deliver them.

Alok Kumar, Chairman of Bihar Foundation of US (East Coast Chapter) and former President of Federation of Indian Associations (FIA), visited the Om Sri Sai Balaji Temple and Cultural Centre in New Jersey with his family and friends to pray for Chandrayaan-3's success.

"We pray that Chandrayaan-3 achieves success. The mission will write a new chapter in India's space programme and history," Kumar said.

Dr Avinash Gupta, a cardiologist based in New Jersey, said that the Indian-American community is very eager and excited to watch Chandrayaan-3's successful landing on the Moon.