On Friday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) received congratulations from the American and European space agencies for the successful launch of its third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3.

ISRO launched Chandrayaan-3 on board the heavy-lift LVM3-M4 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Senator Bill Nelson, Administrator of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), congratulated ISRO on the launch of Chandrayaan-3 through Twitter.

He tweeted, “Congratulations to ISRO on the Chandrayaan-3 launch, wishing you safe travels to the Moon. We look forward to the scientific results to come from the mission, including NASA’s laser retroreflector array. India is demonstrating leadership on #ArtemisAccords!” NASA has provided a passive laser retroreflector array (LRA) for lunar ranging studies. The LRA is fitted in the Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3.

Similarly, the European Space Agency (ESA) said, “Congratulations to ISRO for a great launch!” In a statement, the ESA said it is extending support to Chandrayaan-3 through its European Space Tracking (ESTRACK) network of deep space stations. These are ground stations on the Earth to help keep operators stay connected to spacecraft as they venture into outer space.

ESTRACK is operated by the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany.

In their statement, ESA said that they will coordinate tracking support from the 32-meter antenna operated by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd in the UK. Goonhilly will support Chandrayaan-3’s propulsion and lander modules.

The ESA also said, “Crucially, it will support the lander during the entire phase of lunar surface operations, helping to ensure that science data acquired by the rover arrives safely with ISRO in India.”

ESA stated that “Chandrayaan-3 is just one of two ISRO missions that ESA will support this summer” to further expand its support to further ISRO programs.