India fifth in world to reach moon

The tricolour landed on the Moon at 8.31 pm on Friday, opening a new chapter in the history of India’s space exploration. Other countries which have reached the Moon are:
1. USA
2. Soviet Union
3. Japan
4. the European Space Agency (17 nations).
5. India becomes the fifth member of this club.

The tricolour was painted on all sides of the 29 kg Moon Impact Probe(MIP) which was attached to the top portion of the main lunar orbiter, Chandrayaan. The MIP is the brainchild of former President A P J Abdul Kalam who witnessed its separation from the main orbiting craft and its crashlanding 32 km from the Shackleton crater on the moon’s south pole from the mission control room at ISRO’s telemetry, tracking and command network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore.