Indian diaspora in US eagerly awaits moon landing

August 23, 2023 11:12

The Indian diaspora in the US is eagerly waiting for Chandrayaan-3's much-anticipated landing on the Moon on Wednesday with many of them saying the lunar mission will propel India as a global leader in space technology and inspire millions of children to take up science, physics and astronomy as their area of pursuit.

ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan) is all set to land on the lunar surface on Wednesday evening at 6.04 pm, as India eyes becoming the first country to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite.

"I am very excited about what Chandrayaan-3 can achieve for us," New York-based commodity trader and Physics enthusiast Sandeep Daga told PTI.

"The Chandrayaan-3 mission is really a shot in the arm for the Indian space programme and the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). It will propel India as a global leader in space technology and it will inspire millions of kids to take up science, physics and astronomy as their area of pursuit. That's the way to go," Daga said.

Daga, like many other members of the Indian diaspora, are keenly following Chandrayaan-3's countdown to land on the lunar surface later today, propelling India to the elite space club of nations that have landed a rover on the moon.

Till now only three other nations - the US, China and the erstwhile Soviet Union - have landed a rover on the moon.

" I am very excited about Chandrayaan-3. We will be only the fourth country in the world to land a rover on the moon," Daga said.

Describing the lunar mission as a "moment of pride for India, Daga underlined the project's massive economic impact.

"We know that the space economy is worth more than half a trillion dollars every quarter. So it is a pretty big deal. I see (Chandrayaan-3) as a vindication of India's technological prowess. And what's even more amazing is that we have achieved this mission at a cost of less than USD 75 million, which is much lower than what a Hollywood space movie would cost today," he said.

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