Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated his Indian colleague Drupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the successful landing of India’s Chandrayaan-3 space station on the South Pole of the Moon, said the Kremlin.

“Please accept my heartfelt congratulations on the successful landing of India’s Chandrayaan-3 space station on the Moon near its South Pole. This is a major step in the exploration of outer space and, of course, a testimony to the impressive progress India has made in science and technology,” said Putin.

The Russian leader asked to convey “sincere congratulations and wishes for further achievements” to the management and staff of the Indian Space Research Organisation.

The Vikram descent module of the Chandrayaan-3 station delivered a small 26-kilogram moon rover to the Earth’s satellite, said in Putin’s telegram published on the
official website of the Russian president.

The Vikram descent module is named after the father of the Indian space programme, the famous scientist Vikram Sarabhai (1919-1971), and the lunar rover is named Pragyan (“knowledge”, “wisdom”).

India became the fourth country in the world to perform a soft landing of a lunar rover on the Moon, after the Soviet Union, the United States and China. India also became the first country to make a soft landing at the South Pole of the Earth’s natural satellite.

Photo: 
kremlin.ru