Farooq, Omar hopeful of successful moon landing of Chandrayaan-3

Srinagar: National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah on Wednesday expressed hope that Chandrayaan-3 will successfully complete its journey to the moon later in the day.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday said it is all set to initiate the Automatic Landing Sequence (ALS) for its ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) to touch down on the lunar surface this evening.

The LM comprising the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan) is scheduled to make a touch down near the south polar region of the Moon at 6.04 pm, a feat not achieved by any country so far.

"We are very hopeful that the journey of Chandrayaan-3 will be completely successful today. We are eagerly waiting for the pictures and videos from the part of the moon where no country has so far managed a softlanding.

"If the Chandrayaan landing is successful, which we are very hopeful of, we will join the elite league of countries that have managed this feat," Omar Abdullah told reporters at the party office here.

The former chief minister said it will be the first time that any country has sent a probe mission to the south pole of the moon.

His father and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah also lauded "our scientists" for doing "yeoman's service" to put India on the space map.

"I and all of us are proud of our scientists who have done a yeoman's service to put India on the space map. Congratulations to everyone," Farooq Abdullah told PTI.

The former Union minister also expressed hope that India will launch space travel to the moon and Mars soon.

Remembering former president A P J Abdul Kalam, "who was a pillar in all these things", he said India has progressed tremendously in the space sector ever since he was elected to the top constitutional post.

"I think the last mission failed because something went wrong. This time, I am sure we have overcome those difficulties and soon Chandrayaan-3 will be on the moon. We are looking forward to space travel soon by an Indian rocket to the moon and also Mars in the future," Farooq Abdullah said.

Excited students in Jammu and Kashmir were seen cheering for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3's lunar module on the moon's surface, calling it a proud moment for the country.

"In sha Allah it will land successfully on the moon's surface. We hope and we cheer for its successful landing," Rather Abid Ashraf, a student of Class 12 at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar, here, told PTI.

Ashraf said it is not only about ISRO's mission, but it is also about showcasing how India is rising. "I want to applaud the ISRO team which has worked hard to achieve this tremendous feat. This is the first ever mission launched by any space agency all over the world which will land on the moon's south pole and will do in-situ experiments there," he said.

Meanwhile, on the hearing of Article 370 petitions in the Supreme Court, Omar Abdullah said he is thankful to all the lawyers who appeared for the petitioners before the apex court.

"I am thankful to all lawyers who took part in the arguments. It started with Kapil Sibal and as the CJI was saying Muzaffar Baig or Gopal Shankar Narayan will be last to appear. I want to thank each one of them. Their participation has given a sense of comfort that people of Jammu and Kashmir are not alone in feeling that the decisions of August 5, 2019 were wrong," he said.

The National Conference leader said after hearing the top lawyers of the country speak in favour of people of Jammu and Kashmir in the Supreme Court, "we really felt that we are not alone".

"The constitutionally apt arguments made by these lawyers have convinced me that we could not have done any better. Now, we will wait for the reply of the Government and the decision (of the court)," he added.

Asked about the alleged hate speech during a rally in Jammu, the NC vice president said some people were habitual of spreading hate here.

"It is unfortunate that the government is allowing them to do so. We had heard that Governor's Rule is apolitical and it does not follow any ideology. But this is for the first time that I have seen such politics of hate is being allowed in the Governor's Rule. I will expect the LG to implement the Constitution under which he has taken oath of office, he said. PTI MIJ SSB MNK CK CK