Success of Chandrayaan-3 is collective success of every Indian: Congress

, After Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the Moon, the Congress on Wednesday said it is a collective success of every Indian and ISRO's achievement today reflects a saga of continuity and is truly fantastic. The opposition party said an elated nation with 140 crore aspirations today witnessed yet another achievement in its six-decade-long space programme.

It said the entire world is looking up to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which is a matter of special pride for all Indians.

"The success of Chandrayaan-3 is the collective success of every Indian. An elated nation with 140 crore aspirations witnessed today yet another achievement in its six-decade long space programme.

"We are deeply indebted to the remarkable hard work, unparalleled ingenuity and unflinching dedication of our scientists, space engineers, researchers and everyone involved in making this mission a triumph for India," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.

Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said ISRO's achievement today reflects a saga of continuity and is truly fantastic.

"ISRO's accomplishments have always been anchored in self-reliance. They reflect phenomenal team work, partnerships and enterprise. The entire world is looking up to ISRO today, acknowledging its achievements, and for us Indians, it is a matter of special pride," Ramesh said in a video message.

In a giant leap for its space programme, India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.

India scripted history as ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission touched down on the Moon's surface.

The lander module comprising the lander (Vikram) and the 26-kg rover (Pragyan) made the soft landing near the south polar region of the Moon at 6.04 pm, less than a week after a similar Russian lander crashed.

With this touchdown on the Moon in second attempt in four years, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union.