Heart-stopping moment followed by jubilation as India’s spacecraft lands on moon

The tension is palpable in the control centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). A heart-stopping moment for every scientist and every Indian watching. For the first time live pictures emerge of Vikram, the lander carrying the Pragyan six-wheeled rover in its belly making a soft landing on the southern surface of the moon. There are jubilations all around, scientists clapping and congratulating each other, and with it a surge in national pride as India joins the table as a prominent player in the community of global space exploration. Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, the chairman of the ISRO, said the…