India is all set to make history tomorrow as Chandrayaan 2 will attempt to soft-land the lander ’Vikram’ and rover ‘Pragyaan’ on the unexplored lunar south pole. If the landing is successful, India will be the fourth country after Russia, the US and China to achieve a soft landing on the moon. India can take pride in the fact that it will be the first country in the world to launch a mission on the unexplored south pole of the moon.

The Indian Space Research Organisation is waiting with bated breath for the landing to take place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be joined by about 60-70 high school students from across the country to witness the space feat live at the ISRO centre in Bengaluru.

The landing module Vikram will begin descent between 1 am and 2 am on September 7 and is expected to touchdown between 1.30 am and 2.30 am. Following the landing, the rover Pragyaan which is housed inside the lander will roll out from 'Vikram' between 5.30 am and 6.30 am.

The lander and rover that display the country’s symbols will remain on moon for long. ISRO Chairman K Sivan said that the entire scientific community of the nation and the globe were eagerly waiting for the mission as Chandrayaan 2 was going to the South Pole, a place where nobody else has ever gone before. He further said that the exploration of the south lunar surface is interesting because of the possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it.

According to ISRO, the success of Chandrayaan-2 will lead to the development and demonstration of the key technologies for end-to-end lunar mission capability, including soft-landing and roving on the lunar surface.

Let us hope that this mission will be a grand success and India will be over the moon, literally!