4 days to D-Day: World waits with bated breath for Chandrayaan-2 Moon landing

NEW DELHI: With less than four days to go for Chandrayaan-2 moon landing, it's not only scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation who are keeping their fingers crossed. Space enthusiasts from across the world are eagerly waiting to watch the historic event. If the Moon landing is successful, India will become the first country in the world to land in lunar south pole, the region that is supposed to be rich in minerals and water ice.
Soon after Vikram lander got separated from the orbiter at 1.15pm in the circular orbit of Moon on Monday, Isro chairman K Sivan told TOI, “After the successful separation operation, people in Isro are very much excited and enjoying. They are eagerly waiting for the big day.” He said both lander and rover are “moving at a relative velocity of 0.8m per second in the same 119 km x 127 km orbit and the distance between the two is going to increase”.

Former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) astronaut Donald A Thomas, who is currently visiting India, said, “Chandrayaan-2 will be the first spacecraft to land near south pole and this is where Nasa hopes to land an astronaut in about five years from now. Not just Nasa, but the whole world would be interested in knowing about Moon and the universe by following Chandrayaan-2.”
A veteran of four space flights who had logged over 1,040 hours in space, Thomas said: “We (Nasa) had landed near Moon’s equator before but never at the south pole. The south pole is a very special location, we think there is ice in some of the craters that are permanently shadowed. If we find ice there, then we can have water and from that oxygen and hydrogen.”
Another Nasa veteran Jerry M Linenger, who flew on a space shuttle and space station Mir, would also come to India for a special live show on Chandrayaan-2 being organised by National Geographic. “The show will be an interesting interplay of live coverage and pre-shot stories narrating the iconic nature of the (Chandrayaan-2) mission,” National Geographic said in a statement.
In the wee hours of Saturday, PM Narendra Modi will witness the historic event from Bengaluru-based Isro’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) control room. The PM will be accompanied by 60 students who have been selected from across the country on the basis of a space quiz.
Delhi boy Manogya Singh Suyansh, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, who has been selected for the event, said, “I am excited to watch Chandrayaan-2 landing as well as to meet the PM. Since childhood, I had the curiosity to know about space. I want to get admission to an IIT and be an astronaut in the future.”