New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS): The Congress on Wednesday hailed successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, saying that it is a matter of great pride for all of Indians as the entire world is looking up to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The remarks came after India’s moon lander successfully set its four legs softly and safely on the lunar soil on Wednesday evening as planned, and became the fourth nation in the world to achieve the feat.

In a video statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “ISRO’s achievement today reflects a saga of continuity and is truly fantastic. In February 1962, the farsightedness of Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai created INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research). Incidentally one of the first recruits to INCOSPAR was Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.”

Ramesh, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, said, “In August 1969, the development-oriented Vikram Sarabhai established ISRO and between 1972 and 1984 Satish Dhawan provided extraordinary technological managerial leadership to decisively shape the ISRO we know today. Along with him, we remember Brham Prakash, the great metallurgist, who made fundamental contributions both to our nuclear as well as our space programme Perhaps only scientist to have done so.”

“After Dhawan came a series of chairmans starting with great UR Rao, who made their own distinctive contributions to our space programme. ISRO’s accomplishments have always anchored in self reliance. They reflect phenomenal teamwork, partnerships, and enterprise,” the Congress leader said.

“The entire world is looking up to ISRO today, acknowledging its achievements, and for us Indians, it is a matter of special pride,” Ramesh added.

The lander landed near the South Pole of the moon after travelling about 3.84 lakh km for over 40 days.

With the landing, a major portion of the Rs 600 crore Chandrayaan-3 mission has been realised.The remaining portion is the moon rover rolling down from the lander, moving around and doing the programmed experiments.