Moon: Safe travels to moon, Go Chandrayaan-3, say Nasa and European Space agency

With Isro successfully placing the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into the Earth’s orbit, congratulatory messages started pouring in from world over, including from foreign space agencies, as well as from Indian leaders cutting across party lines, including the President, Union home minister Amit Shah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Wishing India good luck, Nasa administrator Bill Nelson tweeted: “Congratulations to Isro on the Chandrayaan-3 launch, wishing you safe travels to the Moon. We look forward to the scientific results to come from the mission, including Nasa’s laser retroreflector array. India is demonstrating leadership on ArtemisAccords!” India, during PM Modi’s recent state visit to the US, had signed the Artemis Accords and became part of the Nasa-led manned Moon mission.
The European Space Agency, too, wished Isro with a tweet: “Congratulations to Isro for a great launch! Lift off! Go Chandrayaan3.” ESA’s 15-m antenna at Kourou in French Guiana will be used to track Chandrayaan-3 during the days after launch to help ensure that the spacecraft survived the rigours of lift off and is in good health during its Moon journey.
As the spacecraft recedes from Earth, ESA will coordinate tracking support from the 32-metre antenna operated by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd in the UK. Goonhilly will support Chandrayaan-3’s propulsion and lander modules. Crucially, it will support the lander during the entire phase of lunar surface operations, helping to ensure that science data acquired by the rover arrives safely with Isro in India.
Former Isro chairman K Sivan, under whose leadership the previous Chandrayaan-2 mission lift-off was successful but the lander crashlanded, said, “Last time we could not do the landing mission successfully. So, this time we are attempting (again). We have planned with all corrective measures.”
President Murmu said India’s successful launching of Chandrayaan-3 marks another significant milestone in space exploration besides demonstrating the nation’s unwavering commitment to advancement in space science and technology.
“India today embarked on its historic space journey with the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3. My heartfelt congratulations to the Isro scientists whose tireless pursuit has today propelled India on the path of scripting a remarkable space odyssey for generations to cherish,” Amit Shah tweeted.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “Chandrayaan-3 is today embarking on a journey that carries the hopes of 1.4 billion Indians. The whole nation prays for its success.”
Recalling the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “Today, more than a billion of us look to the sky, beaming with pride. Chandrayaan-3 is the fruit of decades of labour by the scientific community since the launch of India’s space programme in 1962, followed by the creation of ISRO in 1969,” he tweeted. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Telangana CM KCR also congratulated Isro scientists, calling it ‘historic triumph’ for the nation.