Sri Lanka has bestowed its highest civilian award, the Mithra Vibhushana, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recognition of his role in strengthening ties between the two nations. The award was presented by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at a ceremony in Colombo. PM Modi expressed gratitude, stating the award honors not just him but also the people of India. The Mithra Vibhushana, instituted in 2008, has previously been awarded to prominent figures such as former Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri highlighted the award as a recognition of PM Modi's contribution to strengthening the India-Sri Lanka partnership, particularly during Sri Lanka's economic crisis. The award includes a citation and a silver medal adorned with Sri Lankan gems and symbolic motifs representing shared heritage and prosperity.
Despite the chill in bilateral ties, Pakistan's media on Thursday gave front-page coverage to India's historic moon landing while a former minister even called it a 'great moment' for Indian Space Research Organisation.
US Vice President J D Vance is scheduled to travel to India later this month, alongside his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance. This will be Vance's second foreign trip as vice president and Usha Vance's first visit to her ancestral country. The couple met while attending Yale Law School and Usha Vance has a background in law, having clerked for Chief Justice John G Roberts and Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
The next operation - reduction of orbit- will be done at 11 PM on Sunday, ISRO added.
Chandrayaan-3 mission's lander 'Vikram' chose a relatively flat region on the lunar surface to touch down, images captured by its camera showed.
After the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon on Wednesday, August 23, Bollywood has joined India to laud ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) and its team for the historic mission.
After the successful deployment of Chandrayaan-3's lander and rover on the moon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is hoping that their mission life will not be limited to one lunar day or 14 earth days, and that they will come back to life when the sun again rises on the Moon, to carry on with the experiments and studies there.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission that aims for a soft landing on the moon's surface, paving the way for future interplanetary missions, carries six payloads that would help ISRO understand the lunar soil and also get the blue planet's photographs from the lunar orbit.
Chandrayaan-3 mission's rover 'Pragyan' has traversed a distance of about eight metres on the lunar surface, and its payloads have been turned on, ISRO said on Friday.
An entire nation waited, praying and hoping fervently, as the countdown to touch down on the moon wound to a slow close on Wednesday with many thousands gathering in schools, places of worship and elsewhere and scientists doing last minute checks to ensure Chandrayaan-3 makes a soft landing on the lunar south pole.
The UAE was set to create history as the first Arab country and the fourth globally to land a spacecraft on the moon had the Emirati-built moon explorer Rashid Rover made a successful landing on the lunar surface.
So, if ISRO is able to revive them as the Sun rises on the Moon again, information that is derived from experiments that could once again be conducted by the Chandrayaan-3 payloads would be a "bonus".
"The Maha Kumbh had already passed on Purnima. What is currently happening is the 'Sarkari Kumbh. The real Kumbh takes place in the month of Magh. The full moon of the Magh month had passed, and all the 'Kalpavasi' who were at the Kumbh had already left after the Purnima of Magh month," Shankaracharya said.
It is unclear if this episode will affect or prevent the lunar lander -- which was slated to land near the moon's south pole as soon as Monday -- from attempting a touchdown.
On Friday, July 14, India launched its ambitious third lunar mission Chandrayaan 3, eyeing a rare feat in moon exploration.
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Addressing an Eid prayers programme on Red Road in Kolkata, the Trinamool Congress supremo claimed, "Provocations are being made to fuel riots, but please don't fall into these traps. The West Bengal government stands with the minorities. No one can provoke tensions in the state."
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Scientists at ISRO used the orbiter high resolution camera onboard the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter to study the lunar surface hours before and after the soft-landing of Vikram lander on the moon on August 23.
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Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to the Moon, was launched on October 22, 2008 from Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.
The mission objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are to demonstrate a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, to demonstrate rover roving on the Moon, and to conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
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India's lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 holds immense potential for gathering critical data and will significantly contribute to the understanding of the Moon, a former top National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) official has said, describing India-United States space partnership further moving to the moon.
The NASA astronaut with a storied career in space exploration also commended India's substantial role in shaping the field of space exploration.
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ISRO made efforts to re-establish communication with rover Pragyan and lander Vikram after they were put into sleep mode in September following the onset of night on the moon.
At least four babies, three boys and a girl, who were born in the Kendrapara district hospital here on Wednesday evening were named so by their overwhelmed parents.
Here is a glimpse of the journey of India's third lunar exploration venture has taken so far.
The Orion capsule returns to earth after a 26 day mission orbiting the Moon and back.
Sachin Tendulkar, Sania, Mirza, Anil Kumble and Virat Kohli hailed Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's successful landing
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This eagerly anticipated event will be broadcast live on August 23, starting from 17:27 Hrs IST on multiple platforms, including the ISRO Website, its YouTube channel, ISRO's Facebook page, and DD National TV channel.
Here is the timeline of the moon mission as undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
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According to the space agency, Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment measured the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil around the south pole, to understand the thermal behaviour of the Moon's surface.
Somanath thanked all those who prayed for the mission's success, and ISRO veterans like A S Kiran Kumar , the space agency's former chief.
ISRO on Monday said the Vikram lander successfully underwent a hop test when it made the soft-landing again on the lunar surface.
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