NEW DELHI: It seems the universe couldn't resist adding a dash of comedy to India's historic achievement as Chandrayaan-3 nailed its lunar landing, all thanks to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's celestial slip-up that has the internet orbiting in laughter.


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During a pre-landing event in Kolkata, Banerjee gave us all a cosmic chuckle when she accidentally transformed astronaut Rakesh Sharma into the moon's own Bollywood director, Rakesh Roshan. In a tale that defies gravity and logic, Banerjee spun a yarn about "Rakesh Roshan landing on the moon" and even reminisced about former PM Indira Gandhi casually inquiring about India's appearance from space.


Hold your spacesuits! It's actually Rakesh Sharma, the Indian Air Force pilot, who etched his name in the astral hall of fame by becoming the first Indian to conquer space on the Soviet Union's Soyuz T-11 mission in 1984. When PM Gandhi queried him about India's visage from the cosmic heights, he responded with the now-legendary "Saare Jahan Se Achcha (Better than the entire world)".


Well, folks, we've just witnessed the formation of a new cosmic body: the Mamata Meteorite! The moment her blooper reached the virtual cosmos, the internet couldn't help but turn it into a hilarious supernova of memes and shares.


Just as India's Chandrayaan-3 was stealing the moon's spotlight with its epic touchdown at 6:04 PM, a whole new star was born – Rakesh Roshan. Move aside, Neil Armstrong! Netizens had a field day, gifting us meme constellations and even roping in Rakesh Roshan's cinematic son, Hrithik Roshan, for his probable reaction to this cosmic twist.


WATCH: Mamata Banerjee's Celestial Slip-Up While Referring To Chandrayan-3


 



 


India's Chandrayaan-3 Steals the Moon's Thunder with Epic Landing


 


In a heroic leap for India's interstellar capers, Chandrayaan-3, India's self-proclaimed moon whisperer, performed a flawless moonwalk on the southern pole of our lunar buddy at the party time of 6:04 PM on a hump day. This dazzling feat has officially ushered India into the exclusive club of four nations that have successfully parked their cosmic rides on the moon's driveway.


In this spectacle, India enters the elite orbit alongside the USA, China, and the former Soviet Union, leaving the moon absolutely starstruck with its graceful landing. Notably, nobody in the cosmic gala has previously dared to groove on the moon's rugged southern dance floor, known for hiding secret stashes of frozen water and, who knows, maybe some moon truffles.


Setting off on its second moon voyage in four years, Chandrayaan-3's swanky four-legged lander, Vikram, carrying the 26-kg rover Pragyan, executed a flawless moon plunge in the moon's southern crib at the clock's chime of 6:04 PM. ISRO's starry-eyed scientists skillfully managed the nerve-wracking "20 minutes of terror," where every second felt like an eternity while descending, and it wasn't even a Netflix binge.


Just a hop, skip, and a cosmic jump away from the triumphant landing, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) enthusiastically announced that the lander and ISRO's Mission Operations Complex (MOX) in Bengaluru were chatting like old pals.


As a cosmic bonus, ISRO shared images captured by the Lander Horizontal Velocity Camera (LHVC) during the descent, as if they were sending us postcards from their lunar vacation. Amidst a galaxy of celebrations at MOX, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was cosmic-hopping in South Africa, cheered on our space heroes virtually. He declared that India's lunar victory isn't just a feather in our cap, but a whole peacock's worth of progress for humanity.


Here Are Some Of Those Funny Reactions To Mamata's Gaffe