PM Modi hailed the Chandrayaan-3 mission creating history by achieving a soft landing on the lunar surface and said "India is now on the moon"

New Delhi: After concluding his two-nation visit from Greece, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head straight to Bangalore, Karnataka on a pre-scheduled visit. He will meet scientists of the ISRO team involved in the Chandrayaan-3 Mission.

After a 40-day journey into space, the Chandrayaan-3 lander, 'Vikram', touched down on the uncharted lunar South Pole on Wednesday evening, making India the first country to do so.

Moreover, the Prime Minister joined the live telecast of Chandrayaan-3 landing online from South Africa.

PM Modi hailed the Chandrayaan-3 mission creating history by achieving a soft landing on the lunar surface and said "India is now on the moon".

"When we see such historic moments it makes us very proud. This is the dawn of new India," he said.

"Humne dharti par sankalp kiya aur chand pe usse sakaar kiya...India is now on the moon," he added.

India also became only the fourth nation after the US, Russia and China to successfully conduct a lunar landing mission.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft put down the Vikram lander on the lunar surface, tilting to a horizontal position ahead of landing.

The spacecraft was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota on July 14.

A GSLV MK-III (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 went through a series of orbital manoeuvres before zeroing in on the moon's surface.