Hardeep Puri attends ‘ardas’ for successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3

New Delhi [India], August 23 (ANI): Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday participated in a special ‘ardas’ at Delhi's Gurdwara Bangla Sahib for the successful landing of India's moon mission Chandrayaan-3, which is scheduled for its soft-landing on the lunar surface today.
Talking to reporters, Puri said that special ardas took place for the safe and successful landing of Chandrayaan-3.
"Special ardas is taking place for the safe and successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, not just here but across the whole country. Entire population is praying for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3,” the union minister said.
Meanwhile, people across the nation held special prayers at temples, mosques and gurudwaras for the success of India's third lunar mission.
Several prayers have been planned and are taking place across the country for Chandrayaan-3's successful landing.
In Odisha, people gathered and offered special prayers at a mosque in Bhubaneswar for the same.
Hindu prayer ceremonies were also held across the country for the success of the mission.
Chandrayaan-3 is likely to make a historic landing on Wednesday at 6.04 pm, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Monday and said that they will organise a live telecast of the landing process, which will begin at 5.20 pm.
The entire nation is on its toes with prayers on its lips and suspense building up after Russia's Luna-25 mission crashed on Sunday evening.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is attending the BRICS Summit in South Africa, will join the live telecast online.
It has been a month and nine days since the 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 has been through a series of orbital manoeuvres been lowered closer to the moon’s surface.
The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3 are safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, rover moving on the moon's surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.
If successful, India will join the elite club of nations of China, the United States and Russia to achieve this feat, but India will be the only country in the world to land on the lunar south pole.
Before India, only the United States, Russia and China have achieved a soft landing on the surface of the Earth's only natural satellite. (ANI)