Chandrayaan-3: Former Pakistan Minister congratulates Indian scientists on mission

India is set to create history if its latest space mission Chandrayaan-3 succeeds in making a touchdown on the Moon today.

A successful mission will make India the first country to land on the Moon’s south pole, notorious for its large craters and deep trenches. It will also be the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface after the US, China, and Russia.

As the country stands at the cusp of realising its most ambitious lunar mission, a former minister from India’s neighbour Pakistan has extended his congratulations to the Indian space community.

Fawad Chaudhry, who was the ex-Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Imran Khan government, has shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, congratulating the scientists who have worked on the mission. He also suggested that Pakistan's media should broadcast the Chandrayaan-3 landing on the Moon, calling it “a historic moment for humankind”.

Chaudhry wrote, “Pak media should show the #Chandrayan moon landing live tomorrow at 6:15 PM...historic moment for Humankind especially for the people, scientists and Space community of India...Many Congratulations.”

Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 includes a lander module Vikram named after Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneer of the Indian space program.

On July 14, the lunar lander embarked on its journey, riding atop a robust LVM 3 heavy-lift launch vehicle. Its arrival in lunar orbit was achieved on August 5.

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