Special prayers held at Hazratbal

Srinagar: For the success of India's moon mission Chandrayaan-3, people at Hazratbal and students of Army Goodwill School (AGS) Pahalgam offered special prayers on Wednesday.

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed successfully on Wednesday evening, days after the failure of a Russian vehicle trying to achieve the same feat.

Success for Chandrayaan-3 made it the first to land on the lunar South Pole, a region whose shadowed craters are thought to contain water ice that could support a future moon settlement.

The prayers at Dargah Hazratbal were offered on Wednesday afternoon with a good participation of people.

Like the people of the entire nation, the people at Hazratbal had a prayer on their lips and were eagerly looking forward to its soft landing.

With bated breath as the suspense built after Russia's Luna-25 mission crashed on Sunday evening, prayers were taking place across the country for Chandrayaan-3's successful landing.

At the AGS Phalgam special prayers for soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 were also held.

Around 400 students prayed for its soft landing during the morning assembly.

They were joined by teachers, management, and school Principal Ila Upadhaya.

In a video, the students were seen reciting “lab pe aati hai dua” lyrics in the morning assembly.

“This is a proud moment for us all,” Principal Upadhaya said. “Like other people of the nation, the students, teachers, and management of the school are all proud of the success of Chandrayaan-3's landing.”

The students described the moment as historic for the country.

They also prayed for peace and prosperity of Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of the country.

The people in large numbers also watched on the big screen near the Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk the successful landing of Chandrayaan 3.

Reports of jubilations of landing were also received from other parts of Kashmir.

ISRO launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14.

A GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle was used for the launch of the spacecraft that was placed in the lunar orbit on August 5 and since then it had been through a series of orbital manoeuvres being lowered closer to the moon’s surface.

The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3 were safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, rover moving on the moon's surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.

After its successful landing, India joined the elite club of nations of China, the United States, and Russia to achieve this feat, but India is now the only country in the world to land on the lunar South Pole.